Pawns in Your Palms
by Pixel-0
Summary: When Lydecker kidnaps Logan, Max & Zack join together to free Logan from Manticore's clutches. But, unfortunately, Renfro has other plans for the X5 siblings. Takes place after Meow as if Zack didn't save Tinga, and Lydecker didn't trace Max.
1. Photos

Donald Lydecker drummed his fingers lightly over the black computer keyboard, his eyes not focusing on the screen. He was supposed to be working on a letter to the Committee, asking for more funding to continue Project Manticore-mainly which now included running across the country to attempt and capture his kids. Yet, his mind couldn't concentrate on the glaring screen, and he averted his eyes elsewhere.

It had been too long. Too long since a success. With the recent loss of X5-656, Tinga, and her family, a new cloud hovered over him. He had believed that by having two X5 soldiers on his side, the chances of capturing more would increase. 

And the death of X5-493, Ben, was also a rather big setback. It would've been nice to have another X5 back at Manticore-where they rightfully belonged-even if that meant an anomaly. Anomaly or not, it was still an X5.

Now, Lydecker was left with only one, X5-734, Brin, and even he had to question her motives. She was hiding something from him, but he wasn't sure how to get it from her without having his neck broken. He had trained her well, but far too well, for she would attack anyone-even the captain-if provoked.

As he realized that the loss of Madame X, formerly known as Renfro, would also be a disappointment, the doors to his office slid open.

A young soldier walked in, gun carried proudly across the crook of his arm. "Sir?" he questioned after saluting.

"Yes?" Lydecker responded, making no move to get up from his comfortable leather chair. He did, though, remove his glasses to see the soldier more clearly.

"We have reports as to the location of X5-452…Max…I believe…" the soldier pondered.

Lydecker nearly sprang to his feet. Max! Certainly one of the better X5s, and a chance to finally bring her back! "Continue," Lydecker said placidly, struggling to contain his near excitement.

"We were testing out some of the new hoverdrone prototypes today downtown, and we noticed a girl talking to a man in a wheelchair. She seemed strangely close to your description of X5-452. We followed both her and the man after they parted. She, suspecting something, lost us, but we were able to track the man."

"And how does this do any good?" Lydecker bit, angry again that yet another possible X5 was gone. "Besides," he continued, sitting back down. "How can we even be sure it's her?"

The soldier paused, switching the gun over to his opposite arm, before reaching into his breast pocket and removing what appeared to be pieces of paper. "We have pictures."

Four black and white photos, blurry and unfocused, lay in front of Lydecker. Putting his reading glasses back on, he picked up the two pictures of the girl, and felt his needed air clench in his throat. It was her.

Then, picking up the pictures of the man, he looked closely at these. Something was so familiar…but what was it?

Dismissing the soldier, Lydecker fed a picture into the scanner, producing an image on the computer screen.

Clicking madly with the mouse, he modified the picture until he realized what he was looking at.

God, it was the eyes. Those damn eyes.

Without the glasses on the other man, Lydecker could clearly see those eyes that had stared blankly at him during Ben's murders.

It was the man from Eyes Only.

Picking up the phone, Lydecker madly punched some numbers in. "Hello? Yes, I need the address of the man in these photos."


	2. Video Camera

Logan Cale jerked abruptly as the mechanism in front of him sparked and whirred, dying down. Close to screaming from frustration, he let his head fall into his hands, his fingers combing through his spiky golden hair. 

When was it going to work? God, it wasn't like he could just wait around forever. He had a life. A life, he vainly hoped, that would be spent with Max.

Ever since their passionate kiss on the floor in his living room, (_his_ living room!), Logan had been trying to think of every possible way to walk again. To redeem himself for what had happened beforehand-falling onto the floor, his legs madly shaking.

It wasn't that it mattered to Max; she had made that clear. But, the fact remained that it mattered to him. It would always matter.

How could he ever forget that helpless feeling of having his wheelchair turned over in the bar while the men just laughed? Having Max have to help him? Never being able to defend anyone. Anyone including himself.

A person could easily hurt him if they wanted to-simply by removing his wheelchair. 

Logan pushed himself away from the table upon which the metal exoskeleton waited. He had to do something else to occupy his twisting mind. Messing with that machine would only twist his mind even further. 

Eyes Only.

That would work. Of course it would, for it was one of the few remaining places that he was still in control of his life. He wasn't pitied Logan Cale, he was Eyes Only, a strong, daring crusader for peace

There was a story that he through would work-just something to publicize, that was all he needed. 

After setting up, Logan rolled his wheelchair in front of the camera, removed his glasses and began: "Do not attempt to adjust your set…" 

Lydecker stood behind the cubes of glass that separated the rooms in the Cale Penthouse, flanked by three of his best men, watching quietly.

He had been able to sneak in easily enough. There was no alarm system, and the other man had been far too busy setting up video cameras and computers. Lydecker couldn't have planned it better himself. 

So, this is Eyes Only, he thought to himself. The powerful man behind the entire scheme is actually a weak cripple. Amusing.

With the stealth of the feline that Lydecker had injected into his X5s, he moved up behind Logan and pulled the main electrical cord, turning off the machines.

Logan looked up, shocked, and then it finally registered. He was looking at the living, breathing creator of Manticore-Donald Lydecker.

"Mr.…Cale, isn't it?" Lydecker questioned. Logan reached for the phone, not answering, but his hand was slapped away by a soldier.

"Mr. Cale, could you please tell me the location of X5-452…Max?" Lydecker asked, pointing a black gun in Logan's face.

"I won't tell you anything."

"You know then?" 

Logan didn't answer. He couldn't. Anything he would say could be invalid.

"Good. Good," Lydecker said and motioned to his men. Logan didn't understand what Lydecker had told his men to do, yet he tried to defend himself as much as possible.

Unfortunately, in one swift motion, Logan was knocked unconscious, lying in a heap on the floor.

"Take him to Manticore and grab the wheelchair," Lydecker told his men. "I believe that Mr. Cale will prove to be of a rather great importance to us." 


	3. Sixth Sense

Max lifted her head from her arms covered in a blue shirt, as Original Cindy babbled in the background about proper care of her skin. Max, bored with the discussion, had been struggling to stay awake so that it looked like she maintained some interest in the conversation, but it was difficult. 

But, now, she was wide-awake, rising slowly to her feet, and trying to make sure that her senses were correct. If she was wrong, a mistake could be fatal. 

Again, she paused, listening for it. Yes, it as there. God, something was wrong. Instantly, she realized what was the problem. Logan. Trouble.

Not even bothering to grab her glasses that she usually wore while riding on her motorcycle, she flew out the door, managing, at least, to remember her jacket. Original Cindy paused her breathless speech, and said nothing, shocked beyond belief.

Ever since she had escaped from Manticore, Max discovered that she had a "sixth sense". Whenever someone she cared about was in trouble, she would know it. There had been very few people with whom she felt this sense. So far, the people consisted of any other X5s, Original Cindy, and Logan.

And now, with the dull thud in her ears like a heartbeat, but far more dangerous, Max felt her palms go sweaty against the handlebar of her bike, and her vision would occasionally blur. What was so wrong that it was literally causing her pain just to think about it?

She arrived at Logan's building in a flurry of sound and dust, and she noticed that nothing appeared to be disturbed. Max almost breathed a sigh of relief to see that there wasn't a fire, or guns, or even Godzilla. Almost. For trouble could still brew beneath the surface.

As Max entered the computer room inside Logan's penthouse, she didn't have time to inspect the area for any signs of distress. She froze upon hearing a noise, and dashed behind the ice cube wall. Was someone there? Who was it?

A shadow formed behind the crystal wall, and Max stiffened instinctively. Logan? Are you walking? Yet, when the shadow walked with slow, easy steps as they had been doing so all their life, Max knew it wasn't Logan.

She had to see who it was-waiting would help no one. So, she peeked around the corner and saw that the person was out of her glancing range of vision. She would have to confront them head on. Max stepped forward, ready to enter the computer room, when she came face to face with the stranger.

"Zack!" she cried, startled.

He looked as equally as confused as she did. "Max? Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the very same question. Where's Logan?"

"Logan?" he echoed, as if he wasn't sure what she had asked.

"Yes, Logan. Where is he, Zack?"

Zack turned away from her, looking dully at the computer where Logan Cale had sat only minutes earlier. Dressed in his typical black leather jacket, with a faded pair of blue jeans and a brown shirt, Zack wasn't sure how to tell Max the truth of what had gone on.

"Zack?" Max asked, impatient with waiting for him to get his mind in the right place.  
Slowly, he came to face her, and the image of she and Logan on the floor, kissing, came back, and a new feeling developed inside of him. "He's gone," Zack hollowly replied.

"Gone? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Forget about him."

"No."

Zack sighed. "I saw them take him-"

"And you didn't help?"

"What good would it have done? None. Forget about him, because he's not coming back. Not coming back alive and mentally sane, anyhow."

"Who has him?"

Zack turned away, ignoring her question and ready to leave. In a flash, Max had him pinned against the wall. Amused with her weak attempt, he gently shoved her away, not wanting to physically hurt her.

Max though, didn't back down even though she had been pushed back. "Tell me," she bit.

He looked out the window, as if listening to the silence, then back at her. "Lydecker," he stated flatly. 


	4. Black Leather

Max glared evenly at her big brother, even though he refused to look at her. He had to be lying. Why wouldn't he? She knew that Zack didn't like Logan and would rather not see Max with him. Besides, what in the world would _Lydecker _want with Logan?

"Who has Logan?" she repeated.

"I said Lydecker did-ok?"

"And you didn't help him?!" she snapped, as the realization that Lydecker really had taken Logan came pouring through her mind, coating it over with anger. Zack had seen it, but had done nothing.

"What would've I had done?" he asked, now looking straight at her. "Huh, Maxie? There were about fifteen of them and one of me-"

"You were afraid."

Zack flushed slightly, but shook his head a second later, denying anything. "No, I was being smart. Save yourself first."

"We have to get him out."

"_We_?" Zack echoed with a hoarse chuckle. "No, nobody's going after him. I'm not and neither are you."

Max said nothing to Zack. He wouldn't understand; he never did anyhow. In all his soldier glory, Zack had never learned about family or friends that you could love as yourself. It was one of his greatest faults, and all of the X5s knew it. 

"Besides, we have to get Tinga out."

"You know where she is?" Max retorted.

"Yes. There's a research facility they've set up inside a converted silo near the municipal border."

Max paused, trying to think. Save Tinga or Logan? Both were equally worthy causes and she didn't want to abandon either one of them, but on the same point, she couldn't save both. It was going to be a tough decision, and one of them was going to have to suffer either way Max looked at it. 

"Tinga can defend herself if necessary-" Max began.

"Not if they brainwash her."

"- but Logan can't defend himself. He's in a wheelchair."

"You care more about _him _than your own family?!" Zack spat.

"He is my family!"

She pushed past Zack and headed over to the door, ready to leave for Logan.

"And where are you going?" Zack retorted from behind her, his arms crossed in black leather.

"Guess."

Without warning, Zack was standing in front of the door, blocking her from leaving with his frame. Being larger than she gave him a definite advantage, but Max was not going to back down. 

"Don't you dare leave," Zack growled.

"Why not?"

"They'll take you and never let you go! Look at Tinga! She's gone and they done God knows what to her. Brin's as brainwashed as can be! They'll kill you, Maxie," he protested, his big brother taking precedence over that of the stiff CO that would've never worried about her.

"You know what? I don't care."

"You're a fool," he sneered.

"Maybe, but I can't just leave him there…with them."

"Yes, you can."

"No, _I _can't." She sighed, backing off slightly and realizing that going through the door wouldn't be the answer at that point. Not then anyhow. "I don't expect you to understand-"

"And why would that be?"

"You ever been in love, Zack?" she rebutted.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he hissed with more anger than needed. Ah, she had hit something inside of him. Zack didn't flare up suddenly for no good reason. He always had reasons. Now, the question was if to prod on further.

"Think about it."

For a moment, he stared at her, if not comprehending what she was getting at. Then, his scrunched eyebrows become unfurled, and his stiffened body relaxed. He looked away from Max's gaze, and then met her never-flickering eyes.

"You?" he asked, his voice surprisingly a whisper. He was shocked, no doubt about it. Zack being shocked. It was something Max had never seen in him before.

She nodded silently. "I have to go after him."

Zack shook his head, like he was trying to clear it, but was unable to. "You're not going alone."

"Yeah? Well, what about Tinga?"

"I can't just let you go off and get yourself killed like this," he sighed. "Besides, if you do get caught, I'll be able to get you out before Lydecker gets a hold of you."

"You don't have a lot of faith in me-do you?"

"Let's just put it this way: some of your moves in the past haven't been the smartest."

"Are you coming then?"

"Yes," he acknowledged and moved out of the doorway, letting Max go through. She smiled at him as she passed.

"Thanks."

Zack though, wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry that they were doing something so utterly insane as they left.


	5. Wheelchair

Lydecker stared down at the man resting in his wheelchair, still unconscious. 

They were alone in a small room with no windows, although two armed guards waited outside the heavy metal door. A single table was mounted to the cement floor between Lydecker and this man. Despite the fact that there were two chairs, Lydecker still stood, watching carefully.

Logan Cale and Eyes Only. Who would've thought that they were the same person? 

Logan Cale was known to Lydecker only as a hapless journalist who had willingly risked his own life for the safety of the women at the genetics conference. Lydecker had been amused at the thought of the men holding them hostage bending to a cripple's wishes. Yet, surprisingly, the men had consented, and Logan was taken-even though he was distinctly marked for death. No longer was he just a journalist in a wheelchair; in Lydecker's eyes he was a soldier risking it all to save his troops. And it reminded Lydecker of his days back in the army. His days of glory.

But, Eyes Only. Now that was different man altogether-and not just because he was on TV.

Eyes Only had foiled Lydecker's plans to recapture the children of Manticore on more than one occasion. For the longest time after the X5s were alerted to the danger of Lydecker when X5-599, Zack, had revealed their locations, Lydecker could never figure out exactly why a national crusader for peace would be meddling in his affairs. And how he would know about Lydecker's functions in the first part was the bigger mystery.

But, when Lydecker received a message to meet with Eyes Only during the mass murders of X5-493, Ben, Lydecker began to see the pieces fall into place. It did take a little bit of deductive reasoning, but being an intelligent man, Lydecker was able to see the connection.

Two very different men. Logan Cale and Eyes Only. The opposites of each other in nearly everything.

But, they had one thing in common.

Max.

She was there when Logan sacrificed himself for the women at the genetics conference. 

She was there for X5-493, Ben's, killings and had most likely killed him, since no other person in Seattle had that kind of power. So, it had to be an X5 that had murdered X5-493.

Yet, even through the many observations Lydecker had made of both men, he never would've guessed they were the same person. Never. 

His thoughts were interrupted as Logan began to stir in his chair. There was a dark bruise on his left temple where he had been knocked unconscious, along with a cut on the top of his lip. Without his glasses, having been removed in the brief scuffle, it made the point all too clear to Lydecker that this was Eyes Only.

Slowly, Lydecker sat down in a chair across from Logan, clasping his hand together and bringing them to his own lips, waiting to speak. Logan's own hands were tied to the arms on his wheelchair, preventing him from going anywhere, plus the wheelchair had its brake on, and Logan was unable to touch it. He glared angrily at Lydecker with raging blue eyes.

"Mr. Logan Cale," Lydecker stated, breaking the long silence as he let his hands fall back to the table. Logan didn't flinch at the sound of his own name, for he knew that he couldn't show such weakness. "You're probably wondering why I brought you here." Still, Logan made no move to communicate with the older man, irritating Lydecker. "Talk to me," he said to Logan. "I'm not who you think I am."

"Then who…or what…are you?" Logan spat, although his eyes never shifted.

"I'm not different than you-"

"Your first lie. Really, I'm surprised. After all I've heard about you, I would've hoped for a more truthful sentence to start the conversation."


	6. Motives

Lydecker was shocked for a moment that a man in a position such as Logan's would speak to him so assertively. They might have been bargaining for their life or crying and whimpering, but biting back so harshly? Yet, Lydecker, being a stern commander, regained his composure and smiled wryly.

"And how much _have_ you heard about me, Mr. Cale?"

"Enough."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out," Logan bit with an ice in his voice he rarely used under normal circumstances. But, this was not a normal situation, and this was certainly not a normal man he was talking to.

Lydecker sighed and ran his index finger over his rough chin. Logan was going to be more of a hassle than he'd assumed. But, no matter. Just all part of the game.

"Everything you've heard about me, you most likely heard from X5-, excuse me, _Max_, I'm guessing."

"She doesn't need to be brought into this-"

"Well," Lydecker continued, ignoring Logan's comment almost entirely. "I'm sure you, as Eyes Only, of course, could understand my motives."

Logan flinched unintentionally. He hadn't realized that Lydecker knew both of him now. Everything Logan said was going to have to be carefully controlled. Couldn't be too cautious in a place such as this.

"Your _motives_ I can understand quite clearly-creating powerful soldiers so that fewer men would have to die. But the _reason_-destroying children-for doing so is not so well understood."

"I was going to create something better-"

"And in the process you created a fatal mistake."

"They were never mistreated. All of their lives had a purpose."

"They were kids!" Logan spat so vehemently that spit flew from his lips as he leaned forward in his chair as if ready to jump out and attack Lydecker.

Lydecker shook his head, denying what Logan said. "They were soldiers."

"You'd like to think so; you'd like to believe that what you did had a purpose. They were children…children of the damned," he replied, remembering what Max had said before.

"You've very presumptuous for a man in your position, Mr. Cale."

"I've been in worse conditions."

"Do you not realize that I have the power to kill you?"

"And you won't."

"You're questioning me?" Lydecker asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I am. Shocking for you-isn't it? But, nonetheless, had you wanted me dead, you would've already done so. You've had at least a hundred chances to eliminate me off the face of this earth, but you haven't, so you won't."

Lydecker said nothing, for he knew that Logan was right. He wouldn't kill him. It had taken far too much trouble and time to transport Logan from his Seattle home all the way to Wyoming. The man couldn't die now. His capture, therefore, would all be in vain. And Lydecker had a point to make, which he was determined to make.

"You know, I'm a patient man. We could sit here talking for as long as you would like, or we could just get right to the point," Lydecker stated as he leaned slightly forward in his chair.

"Why don't you pick?" Logan sneered. "After all, you are the mastermind behind this ingenious plot. Or, did one of your men help you?"

"I concurred the plan. But, let's get to the point, shall we?"

"And what _is_ the point?"

"You have something that's of great value to me, Mr. Cale."

"I have nothing you would want."

"Yes, yes you do," Lydecker replied with a hoarse laugh. "Max."


	7. Black Sea

Max waited impatiently outside of the chain link fence, drumming her fingers against the bar of her motorcycle just to outwardly show her annoyance. How long could it take him? He was usually so speedy, she thought angrily for she knew how precious the time was that they were running on.

As if in answer to her question, Zack strode out, wheeling the freshly stolen motorcycle beside him out of the confiscation area. 

"Took you long enough," Max remarked as he came along beside her.

"Got what I needed-didn't I?"

"Does it work?" she asked him.

"Should. Got checked in this morning for a missing taillight…sector police problem most likely." He jingled a ring of keys, holding them up for Max to see in the pale, creeping moonlight. "Fat guard didn't even see me take 'em," Zack bragged. "Had a stream of drool coming down over the flab he calls a cheek."

Zack was excited, Max noticed. This was fun to him; adrenaline rushing through his veins was no different than sugar to a toddler. But, she knew that he truly wasn't as carefree as he seemed. Covering his true emotions was always a trend with Zack; he never wanted anyone to know what he was feeling.

"Where should we go?" Max asked, pulling her glasses off the top of her curly head and straightening them on her face. "There's at least a hundred different bases outside of Wyoming. Who knows where they took him?"

Zack shrugged and swung a powerful leg over the black leather seat of the motorcycle and settled down onto it. "I'm guessing Wyoming. He's too precious of a commodity to take anywhere else."

"Why?"

"He knows where you are. And, from your location, Lydecker's probably hoping he can get his filthy hands on the next one of us. Chain reaction-y'know?"

"Oh."

Zack studied her carefully, her face shadow streaked in the pale moonlight overhead. She stared straight ahead, as if trying to see through the black sea before them before pushing away from the shore. Oh god, she was so beautiful! He just wanted to wrap his arms around her, telling her how much she meant to him. Why, oh why, did she have to waste her time swimming after a man such as Logan? Why?

"You ok?" Zack finally asked, breaking the silence as he watched her strangely placid face with set jaw.

"I was just thinking…"

"'Bout him?" Zack questioned, referring to "him" as Logan.

"Both him…and Lydecker."

"We can still turn back, you know."

Max fervently shook her head. "No. We have to go after him."

"That's what I thought."

Max wheeled her bike away from the confiscation area and swung a leg over, gazing out into the seemingly endless blackness. Would they ever find Logan? What if they couldn't make it back to the base? No, she firmly told herself, don't start doubting now. That's not going to help anybody. You _will_ get Logan out and everything will be fine.

Zack pushed his bike up besides her and waited for her to say something.

"Thanks," she told him, still not looking at him.

"For what?"

"For coming with me…supporting me."

"Well, I certainly don't support what you're doing, but I'm not going to stand back and let you get yourself killed and blame myself for the rest of my life."

Max turned to him, a wry smile upon her lips. Seeing her precious smile, Zack nearly jumped off the bike right then and there and kissed her. But, he remembered how those same lips had touched Logan's, and he forced himself to stay on the bike and act like nothing was wrong.

"Wyoming then?" she asked him.

"Wyoming it is."

The engines both started at once and the growling noise rose until both Max and Zack had disappeared into the night. Their headlights sliced through the thick fog that was starting to set in from the bay, but they kept on riding, unsure of what they would find when they reached Manticore to save a man that one of them loved and the other hated. 


	8. Anomalies

Logan couldn't say anything. All along, he had a faint inkling of what Lydecker had wanted of him. But to hear it out loud? To hear that his only purpose was Max's locator? Logan was shocked. 

Lydecker, by this time, had risen to his feet and was pacing the small cement room, occasionally raking his fingers through his graying hair. He had to get Logan to talk! The entire destiny of Manticore rested on any and all information this man could give. For, if Logan could give the whereabouts of X5-452, then funding would go back up and everything would be well.

"Donald," Logan said, addressing the older man.

"It's Lydecker."

"Lydecker…" Logan felt uneasy with the name on his tongue, but continued, knowing that this was not the time to become squeamish over a name. "Why are you so concerned about Max? Why not go for the others?" Logan asked, hoping to weaken Lydecker's resolves so he would be set free. 

"The others, Mr. Cale, are untraceable-"

"Apparently, you trained them too well," Logan wryly responded.

Lydecker arched a silver eyebrow, but said nothing. Logan was going to be far harder to handle than Lydecker would have assumed of a crippled journalist.

"Perhaps," Lydecker reluctantly agreed. "But, Max, she's better than I had hoped."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Logan asked, his skin prickling. All of this information that was being discussed so off-handedly was hitting far too close to home. He wished he could just cover his ears and run far, far away. But that, of course, was nowhere near plausible.

Yet, he had to know. The more information he could weasel out of Lydecker, the better. Even if that meant appearing to consent.

Lydecker finally cleared his throat and replied, "Max…is powerful? Yes, I guess you could say that. I don't think any of us know the full extent of her power." As he finished talking, Lydecker resumed his seat across from Logan and gazed at the younger man. 

"Powerful?" Logan echoed.

"Yes, she was created to be the Alpha Female in her group and X5-599 was created to be Alpha Male…I'm sure you've met Zack?"

Logan said nothing, feeling bitter stomach acid rise in his throat. All those times he knew Zack was going beyond brotherly love, it had been more than coincidence. He had been created to love Max; they were supposed to be a pair-from the day they were created. 

"Anyhow," Lydecker continued, seeing that Logan wasn't going to speak. "At least he lived up to that role…Max escaped before she could assume hers. A pity too."

"So what you're saying," Logan began, his mouth abnormally dry, "is that Max is one of the most powerful X5 females?"

"According to her genetics, yes, she should be. But, she's poorly out of training…they all are."

"Except for Ben. He certainly created some training for himself-didn't he?" Logan bit, hoping to push Lydecker into admitting that he was wrong with creating soldiers expected to be perfect.

"He was an anomaly," Lydecker coolly responded.

"How do you know that the others won't turn into…anomalies? That all of your training you shoved into their heads didn't react negatively? You'll never know if another killing spree is going to start."

"No, we don't know. His genetics appeared to be like everyone else's"

"Well, they weren't."

"So, yes, another one could become an anomaly."

"Even your most perfect creations?" Logan asked.

Lydecker paused before answering, "Yes, even Zack and Max could become anomalies."


	9. Fog

If she kept her eyes closed, despite the burning pain, and shut off her ghastly surroundings, Tinga could still see Case.

She would be standing alone, all alone, in a world of fog. The sky above was dark, but not ominous, just as if it was a pleasant night for capturing fireflies in their street. Fog, though, was extremely thick and had settled down all around her, blocking her vision for miles. She wore her red leather jacket and blue jeans with her hair twisted down the back covering her scarf, just as she had been the night that she had walked out of her family's life. It didn't matter that she had come back to save them from the evil king, for by that time, their family was no more. Yet, she would always remember. 

Case would emerge from the fog, running towards her with cheeks rosy from the chilling wind and hands covered in fuzzy green wool mittens that prickled Tinga's face as she crouched down and drew him close to her. His hair, nearly as black as hers, smelled sweetly of Johnson's baby shampoo-familiar and warm. 

Then, he would pull away from his mother and look past her, as if unable to see her. "Mommy?" he'd call. "Mommy?"

She would kiss his ruddy forehead with tender lips and delicately brush his hair out of the way. "I'm right here, baby. Right here," she'd whisper with a voice sweet and gentle.

Slowly, Case would come to recognize her and would smile tentatively, unsure if Mommy was really going to stay this time. "Tell me a story," he'd plead, attempting to savor the moment in which they were together. Burying his chubby face inside of her warm leather, he'd cling to her, never wanting to leave her.

Tinga would smile slightly and comb his hair through her fingers. Just as she was about to speak, a man came out of the fog, abruptly stopping the story.

Unable to see her, Charlie would pick Case up from her protective arms, oblivious to his wife being there right beside him. Whispering to Case that everything would be okay, Charlie would pull his son closer to him as he rose to his feet. Yet, as he spoke, his voice was choked with the threat of sobs and tears covered his sorrowful eyes, no matter how hard he tried to be strong. 

Tinga would reach out for him, trying to talk to him and plead that she was there right beside him. Charlie could not see her. She'd beg and cry, but Charlie had already withdrawn himself from her existence. Sometimes, he would look right at her, as if he really did see her, and she would touch the gentle slope in his rough cheek where he had not had time to shave, but always, he would never notice.

Eventually, he and Case would turn away, leaving Tinga alone, once again.

And slowly, the dream would end as it always did. Her jacket would fade away, along with the rest of her clothes, letting her hair unspiral behind her into waves. She would be left in black strips of fabric that were barely enough to maintain her motherly modesty. Then, the fog would lift, and Tinga would be left in a green liquid, eternally trapped.

When she opened her swollen eyes, she would see that her dream had merged into reality-but without Case or Charlie.

Only a single man sat a whir of computers in front of her, continually monitoring her life processes. He looked up, checking on her, and he briefly met Tinga's stinging eyes.

With a strangled sob, Tinga tried to turn away from him. From the memories. But, she found herself unable to do so and would fight in a pathetic attempt to free herself from the watery prison.

To alert the man at the control panel of the disturbance inside of the tank, tiny machines began to beep. Upon seeing Tinga's distress, he put sedatives into the liquid that drained into her and poisoned both her body and spirit.

Fighting the onset of sleepiness, Tinga raised a hand to her puffy face and brushed away a tear.

She could not continue to fight like this, trying to live her life with hope and bravery. It would kill her eventually and that, of all things, could not happen. Thinking of Case's sweet face, and Charlie's pained, but determined eyes, Tinga knew that she could no longer fight for them; she had to fight for herself. If she at least lived and stopped struggling, then perhaps she could reach them once again. 

Then, taking a deep breath before she fell asleep, she let her mind escape, knowing that she would never hear the name Tinga or Mommy or even Penny again. From that time on, she would be known only as X5-656 and everything she had ever had would be gone. Everything including her family, love, and her freedom as a person. And so, tears streaming from her eyes, she gave herself up and let herself become one of them.


	10. Technology

"What is that supposed to mean?" Logan asked Lydecker. "That they'll turn into psychotic killers just like Ben? Or something worse?"

"The effects are unknown. Yes, they could turn into serial killers, but I doubt that-"

"You doubted Ben and look where that got you. Cross country murders and a dead X5 soldier."

Lydecker nodded his head reluctantly and chewed on the inside of his cheek. That's when he realized that reasoning with Logan would not help him. Logan wouldn't reveal anything that he thought would harm Max. Lydecker would have to manipulate his mind so that Logan thought he would be helping Max, instead of doing the exact opposite. 

"And that's why I need to find Max…and the others."

"So you can put them back in a cage?"

"No, no. I love those kids. I created them, after all-"

"Some way to show your artistic flair," Logan bit sarcastically.

Lydecker ignored Logan's comment and continued, "I just want to make sure that they will be ok."

"You'd like to make sure of a whole lot more."

"Manticore is falling. Without any funding, the entire project will go down the drain. Therefore, if one of my-"

"They aren't yours!" Logan spat.

"Then whose are they?"

Logan said nothing, for there was nothing he could say. Lydecker had a point, and they both knew it.

"That's what I thought," Lydecker replied. "Anyhow, if the kids comes up with a genetic disease-like Brin and the Protega-they'll die because Manticore will no longer exist. And, what about their seizures? I'm sure, considering how well you know Max, that you've seen her having one of those."

"Yes," Logan whispered, remembering how terribly Max's body had been attacked by monsters that she was unable to fight.

"Mm-hmm. If they don't get Tryptophan quick enough, they could die. But-" Lydecker said, raising his index finger to make the point, "we have figured out how to change that."

"I'm pretty sure you can't change a being's genes after they're alive."

"But look at Brin. She was nearly dead and now she's a perfect human."

"Too perfect," Logan muttered. 

"The others, all of them, could be cured."

Logan paused, thinking about what Lydecker had been telling him before speaking. If Lydecker told the truth, Max could be in danger of death perhaps and Logan would feel guilty about it for the rest of his life. But, if Lydecker was lying… 

"So, what you're saying, is that you brought me here to tell you where Max is so she can lead you to the others, and you can save them all from their genetic defects."

"Something like that, yes."

"Well, what about…Zack? He was here awhile ago. Find any _defects_ with him?" Logan asked, arching an eyebrow. He wasn't stupid, and he could see what Lydecker was getting at. Yet, the truth was still unknown to him.

"We didn't have the technology to treat such faults until lately. When he was here, that wouldn't have done him any good."

"So, you just suddenly developed this radical new technology in a matter of weeks…months at the most…that enables you to cure people. I would assume it would take years to create something so highly advanced."

"The project was finished, but the tests were not. We had to make sure it would work before we would use it for its real purposes."

"And the test subjects?"

"Once generation X2 anomalies…now they're in remission and will soon be up for work."

"Work? Or should you saying killing people?"

"They'll be soldiers. Perhaps, if you're doubting me, you'd like to see them?"

Logan was tempted to smile, for Lydecker had to be lying. There was no way a man such as he could be telling the truth. But, Logan thought, two can play this game and Mr. Donald Lydecker's going to learn not to bite off more than he can chew.

"Fine," Logan answered. "Let's go."


	11. Weakling

Lying on her bed in a room that wasn't much bigger than a typical faculty bathroom, X5-734, Brin, watched the gentle beginning of snow. It splashed against the glass, which was covered by thick iron bars so that she could not have escaped, no matter how hard she would have tried. Soon, the cement windowsill was filled with the tiny ice crystals, and Brin's view of her outside world started to become obsolete.

Turning over on her back, she swung her legs, covered in cheap, starched cotton, out of the rickety bed. Her bare feet hit the floor, and she nearly drew them back into bed from the coldness of the harsh cement. But, doing so would be a weakness and she, as a soldier, did not feel weaknesses. So, she pushed herself out of the bed and walked over to the window, ignoring how icy the cement felt. 

Her long black hair cascaded down her back, no longer in a typical braid. She briefly remembered a time when a boyfriend, with a name she could no longer recall, would run his fingers through her hair, telling her how beautiful she was. He had lived a good life-until she had killed him later on. 

She had already been established as a part of Manticore by that time and they were out searching for X5-493. Although she had not been put into Alpha team, Colonel had allowed her to look around the city for any leads that could prove worthy. She found her boyfriend, and the minute he tried to touch her hair again, his neck was broken.

Pinching her small lips together, Brin tried to stop the person she once was from overtaking the new one. Every one in awhile, this old Brin would push emotions into her new counterpart, and there would be a fight to regain control. 

Of course, the mental scuffle was brief because the new, improved Brin was far more powerful than the weakling.

As she leaned against the brick wall, she watched the building snow outside, creating speckles against the cloudy sky. She pressed her thin hand to the window and immediately fog built around her imprint. This time, Brin drew her hand back quickly, not only from the pain of such coldness, but from the pain of the memories.

She remembered the freezer and how she had hidden there as the men talked in their foreign tongues. Zack came for her…but no longer was he Zack…he was X5-599. Zack didn't exist. 

But, X5-599 came for her and so did X5-452. They helped her. Saved her. They had made her better by allowing her come back to Manticore. 

It was almost funny if Brin thought about it long enough now. Both of them had cried over losing her. Even X5-599-who was supposed to be the strongest of all of them, who had led them out of Manticore in the first place-had cried. And he didn't even try to hide it.

Wimp.

Colonel had obviously overestimated his strength. Might as well kill him off with X5-493. 

Suddenly, the door to Brin's room opened and Renfro, her true leader, stood there, dressed for travel, looking slightly surprised to see her perfect soldier out of bed. Brin whipped around, immediately saluting her superior.

"Come," she said to Brin. "We have to go on a little trip."

"Yes, ma'am."

Renfro nodded curtly, agreeing with Brin and left, shutting the heavy iron door behind her.

Not questioning such a disturbance in the middle of the night, Brin began to get ready as her fingers flew through her hair, forming the typical braid once again. She pulled on the black pants and heavy shirt with a bulletproof vest. As she finished tying her shoes, she felt the onset of memories as the snow grew heavier outside. 

Angrily, Brin spat in the direction of the window, trying to deny everything. Then, she turned and left, ready for whatever her leader had in store. 


	12. Thing

Holding her hand up to the pale fluorescent light that trickled in through the iron bars, the anomaly could see the blood caked around her cut cuticles. She had been chewing at her nails for some time now and occasionally, her sharp teeth would miss the nail and bite into her flesh. Her nails were now jagged and torn, wet with saliva and blood. It wasn't that she cared about how she looked for vanity reasons because the anomaly had no concept of a thing called vanity or being beautiful to another. She bit her nails simply because they became too long. After all, she was only taken out of her rancid cell once a month or less. And even then, all it that happened was more experimental work. If she were lucky, they would look at her nails and trim they so that she didn't cut herself. But, most of the time she wasn't so lucky and her nails would just grow. Therefore, she resorted to biting them off herself. 

She had lived in the tiny cell for most of her life. When she had been about ten or eleven,-she could no longer remember the age due to her brain cell depletion from the strenuous experiments-they had put her behind the bars. Tossed her like just another _thing_ in the wretched world she lived in.

Thing. That was what they called her. "Yes sir, we took the thing out today." "No, the thing wasn't feeling well…"

But, she supposed, they had a right to call her Thing. After all, she knew no other name besides that. One of the older men called her some numbers and letters, but it was difficult to remember. The anomaly could only remember the first part. X3. X3. But what did it mean? Surely, it was some kind of code for who she really was. 

Yet, since she was unable to understand what X3 meant, the anomaly stuck to calling herself Thing. 

Pulling her hand away from the parched light, she began to mechanically chew at her fingers again. Her saliva covered her hand as it intertwined with the blood and dribbled down the back of her arm.

The arm itself was clothed, covered in a cheap, starched uniform that was never bothered to be changed. In fact, the material was stained from blood and sweat, with jagged rips around the hems. The only reason the anomaly wore it was because her cell was cold. Coldness was one of the few things she could understand. 

As she tucked her knees up to her chest, she heard the sound of an elevator. Although she didn't know that an elevator was called "elevator", she had learned to recognize the sound of the faint, distant whirring of it. After all, whenever the sound was heard, she would be sedated and taken out of her cell for more experiments.

Thing rose slowly to her feet, unsure of whether or not to step out to the front door of her cell where the light shone the brightest. In fact, the only light she saw was that coming from the bland fluorescent bulbs in the glassy tiled hallway. It hurt her eyes just to look at it.

That's when she heard voices. Voices. No one had ever talked on the way to see her. They just came and took her; that was all there was to it. 

Her concept of the English language was limited to few words. She could communicate if she had to, but understanding others was a different matter altogether. They spoke quickly and in such large words, it made her head hurt to try and decipher their speaking.

But, upon hearing the voice of the man who had put her in the cell, she immediately began to listen. Perhaps, this was the day he would free her from her prison either by removing her or killing her. 

"Yes," he was saying to another. Thing could see shadows in the hallway and was confused. One of the people was short with wheels attached to his legs. How odd.

But, the man with a name she could not pronounce continued, "Yes, Mr. Cale, this is the thing that Max could become if we're not careful."

Thing. They were talking about her. 


	13. Hummer

Outside, the snow was heavy and thick, threatening to suffocate the earth. The Hummer that Elizabeth Renfro sat in would pitch forward occasionally, having a difficult time pushing through the snow. She could only pinch her thin lips together even tighter and hope that they would be able to make it to X5-656 before it was too late.

Beside Renfro sat her most prized possession, X5-734. She was a beautiful soldier. Lydecker had done well with both her military training and overall genetics. She was swift and cunning, ready to kill if necessary, but also holding back so as not to turn into a murderer like her brother, X5-493. Her looks were equally stunning as well, and she portrayed an overall sense of dignity, yet artfulness.

The vehicle pitched forward once again and Renfro nearly tumbled forward out of her seat as they climbed over yet another drift. "How much longer?" she asked the driver impatiently. 

"I don't know, ma'am," he admitted reluctantly. "It's rather hard to tell in this snow, ma'am." The driver was actually one of her own private soldiers-not Lydecker's. Lydecker's men were far too stupid and sentimental for Renfro's liking. 

"Do you know where we are?" 

"I'm not sure. The snow has whited nearly everything out. I can barely see the road, ma'am."

Renfro groaned angrily and sat back in her seat. This could _not_ be happening. She had to get to X5-656 before the girl lost consciousness. As it was, she refused to give into becoming a soldier once again. All of it was so aggravating.

Just then, the two-way radio bleeped, and X5-734 picked it, looked quickly at it to see who was calling in. Then, she handed it over to Renfro.

"It's AgentSandoval , ma'am," she told her leader.

"Not now."

"Do you want me to disconnect the machine, ma'am?"

Sighing heavily to herself, Renfro made herself regain her cool, dignified composure before taking the phone from X5-734 and answering, "Yes?"

"Renfro?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Yes."

"I've got some news about Lydecker."

"Like what kind of news?"

"He's brought someone…a stranger…into Manticore and is showing them the anomalies."  
"What?" Renfro asked in harsh disbelief.

"They're downstairs right now, touring the cells, I believe."

"Who is this stranger?"  
"I'm not exactly sure. His name is Logan Cale, but I don't know what Lydecker would want with him."

"Genetics researcher?"

"No, ma'am. He's not a doctor…he's in a wheelchair. I don't suppose you know anyone in a wheelchair."

Rubbing her head to knead out the knots of anxiety, Renfro sighed heavily as she realized that no, she did not know anyone in a wheelchair. If she had, things could be fixed. But now? "No," she admitted to Agent Sandoval. "I don't know anyone in a wheelchair. Do you know what they're talking about?"

"Something to do with finding X5-452. Apparently, this stranger knows where she is."  
"X5-452?" Renfro echoed. She had heard enough from Lydecker to assume that this X5 was exceedingly special. If X5-656 were to die, then perhaps this one, this very special one, would be the key to her reentrance into Manticore. "All right," she ordered, "I want you to listen and watch Lydecker and this Logan Cale person very closely. Take a recording device if you need to. Do not let them know that you are watching. I want any and all information on this X5-452 girl. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am, but I-" At that moment, the signal from Agent Sandoval was cut off and Renfro was left holding a static machine. She cursed under her breath and rapped it against the seat in hopes of making it work once again. 

"Ma'am?" X5-734 questioned, although she usually didn't speak without being spoken to first.

"What?" Renfro snapped, her tension building.

But, Brin wasn't given time to answer. The Hummer dove through a snow bank before flipping onto its side from the icy road and rolling down a hill. Renfro's voice was one long shriek, despite all of the military training she had been through. This was not something that experience could stop; fear was the only thing left to take control. Over and over, the people were tossed. Renfro's head hit the window and left a bloody smear, cutting off her screams of panic for good. Meanwhile, Brin was able to kick open a door and push herself out of the dying car. After all, the primary rule was to save yourself first. 


	14. Accident

Max and Zack zipped through the snow like two tiny dragonflies, their headlights splicing the night in two. Neither of them needed to slow down for the other because they were both so incredibly intrepid. Pinching corners and jumping over any and all obstacles in the way was the way that they traveled.

Max traveled a little bit farther out in front of Zack so that her back wheel was even with his front. After all, she was the one who was the most eager to see Logan, not Zack. In fact, Zack would've forgotten about Logan and left him there if he had been in charge. But, Max's big brother was not in charge this time-she was. 

All she wanted to do was to run to Logan and clutch his ruddy face in her hands, while covering him in sweet kisses and apologizing for ever getting him involved in her life. He deserved so much better than the psycho existence she lived, but she just couldn't bring herself to leave him. 

Zack meanwhile, wasn't thinking about Logan. He was worried about Tinga and how they were going to get her out, about Max's safety on the road, why Zane was being so stubborn lately, what Jhondi was really thinking the last time he talked to her and how to avoid being killed by Brin. There were way too many things that were far more important than the safety of Max's newest love interest.

It wasn't that Zack outright hated Logan. But yet, there was enough distaste between the two of them that kept Zack away from Seattle whenever he could dodge it. Even though Logan had kissed Max…and Zack had seen it…he wasn't about to go into a frantic frenzy over it.

Suddenly, Max slowed down so that she traveled right beside him. "There's a car!" she yelled over the blowing snow and the growling engines. "It's up in the ditch!"  
"So?!"  
"It's a Manticore hummer!"

Instantly, Zack felt his insides freeze and it wasn't from the cold. Now he not only had to worry about the previous problems, but what exactly lay inside of the Manticore car.

Max pulled over to the side of the road and hopped off of her bike. She scooted carefully down the side of the snowy bank, but not carefully enough for snow still managed to get inside of her boots. Shivering, Max looked inside of the crushed vehicle.

"Anybody in there?" Zack asked, coming up from behind her.

"Yeah, the driver's dead though. Head smashed in pretty bad. But there's a lady in there as well."

"Let her die," Zack grunted.

"We can't just leave her here!"

"She's from Manticore! She'll kill us on sight if she wanted to. No questions asked."

"I'm not leaving her here."

"Oh, that's right…you and your sentimentalities," he sneered.

"Well, think about it. If she really is from Manticore, then she'll be our ticket in to get Logan."

Logan. Zack had nearly forgotten about the man whose life they were supposed to be saving.

"Fine," he groaned and helped Max pulled Renfro, bloody and bruised, out of the car. "I hope we just don't live to regret this like we did with the time we used Lydecker to get Brin out."

"We got her out-didn't we?"

"And she went right back in."


	15. Finger

Max laid the bleeding Renfro across her lap, driving slower than usual so that Lady Manticore didn't fall off of the motorcycle. Renfro's silver hair was slicked with blood and now almost frozen into sharp spikes from the frigid temperatures. Max wanted to believe that this lady would help them and free Logan from Lydecker's clutches. But, as Zack had said, "She's from Manticore…kill us on sight." Shaking her head, Max tried to block out such pessimistic thoughts. Yet, it wasn't easy.

Zack, meanwhile, watched Max with such utmost intensity that he nearly zoomed off the side of the road himself. What did she think that she was doing? Saving a protector for them? Honestly, Zack thought with a disgusted groan, both Max and I can take down Lydecker…and save Mr. Logan Cale in the process. Miracle Boy, my ass.

As Max and Zack turned the snowy corner, they finally saw it. 

The building loomed high in their vision, and snow fell thickly on the pine trees that were scattered across the grounds. A bright light sliced across the field, waiting to pounce upon any escapees. Zack swallowed hard. It was the night of the escape. But, where were the others?

Max parked her motorcycle in some back foliage. "You want to jump the fence and sneak in? Or just politely knock on the door like a good little Girl Scout?"

"What?" Zack asked, not listening to her. The memories were starting to get to him, and he was using all the power he had to push them away.

"Fine. We jump it."

"Are you going to be able to make it with her?" Zack asked, giving a sharp nod in the direction of Renfro.

"She's not as heavy as you'd think. Unless of course, you'd feel better carrying her."

Zack shook his head. "You're the one who saved the witch, so you're the one who has to carry her." He didn't tell her that he had seen Renfro talking to Lydecker about Tinga before. Telling Max that would just get her more flustered, and she needed to be as alert as she could be. 

Cautiously, they approached the chain link fence and stood on the hill, overlooking the monster building. Logan, Max thought, I'm here. And I'm not leaving until you're in my arms once again.

"She got a gun on her?" Zack asked Max.

Quickly, Max patted Renfro's side and pulled out a black pistol. She offered it to Zack who took it greedily. 

"We'll need this…in case…we…" He didn't finish. What he meant to say was they would need the gun in case they couldn't get away from the guards and had to kill to survive. Kill or be killed.

Max nodded, understanding, but refusing to salute and bow to his orders. Just because he had been CO at Manticore, didn't make him captain of her life. She knew what she had to do. If Zack wanted to take out the guards, let him. Logan was more important than that.

"Let's go," Zack said and they hurried forward. In one swift move, they were over the fence and standing in ankle deep snow. And, once again, Zack saw the others running away from Manticore on the night of the escape. He bit down hard on his jaw and said nothing more.

Just as they were beginning to make their way across the field, a light focused on them. "Who goes there?" a guard asked as ten other men in black scuttled around Max and Zack. Damn, Max thought, they've gotten better at protection since we escaped.

"We bring a personnel from Manticore," Max said, trying to disguise her voice. 

That's when Zack saw what Max couldn't. On the opposite side of Renfro's seemingly lifeless body, she twitched her left index finger, indicating something. That something would be capture. "Run, Max!" he bellowed, turned and gave one of the guards a smart kick on the chin before the other guards could react. Zack was over the fence and speeding away before the guards could even get started.

Max, meanwhile, who had never been one for acting directly upon Zack's orders had hesitated. Immediately, she was pinned to the ground, a knee in her back and a tayzer on her brain. 

Renfro fell into one of the soldier's arms and smiled slowly, regaining consciousness. "X5-452," she said to Max. "I guess I didn't have to look as hard as I thought I would." And with that, Max's snowy world went black.


	16. Eyes

As Lydecker took him down the starkly illuminated hallways, Logan felt a shiver pass through him. There was a row of fluorescent lights above his head that were mirrored onto the immaculate tile floor so that it appeared as if there was another set of lights on the floor as well. Heavy iron doors were pushed into the wall with identity numbers marked on them. God, he thought to himself, this is what Max had to see…and as a child. If she could do it, then you can too.

Logan was surprised that Lydecker was actually pushing his wheelchair. After all, Logan would've assumed that Lydecker probably would have pushed Logan down the stairs. Instead, the older man had willingly taken Logan into the elevator where they were taken downward.

Logan's hands were still tied to the arms of his wheelchair, but someone had found a pair of glasses for him to wear. These helped him to see much better, and he could examine his surroundings fully.

"Here we are," Lydecker said to Logan as they stopped in front of a cell. The numbers were faded so badly that they were unreadable.

"What is it?" Logan hesitantly asked. Lydecker merely shook his head and gestured to the cell. As if on command, the creature poked a hand out and reached to grab Lydecker. Then a looming face appeared.

Logan jerked back so violently in his wheelchair that the entire chair lurched backwards with his abrupt body movement. A scream formed in his throat, and it took all of the power he had to contain it. 

The creature, in a word, was horrific, as if it had come from the bowels of Hell itself.

Its hands were caked in blood, which dripped onto perfectly clean floor, and shiny in saliva. The nails were long and jagged, some ripped back so far that it cut into the bleeding cuticle. And the skin that covering the body weeped from opened blisters and sores. The skin that wasn't covered in sores, was so severely scarred over that it was violently twisted as if someone had grabbed a piece of skin and it refused to form smoothly again.

But it was the face that terrified Logan the most. 

The creature had patches of hair in some spots and scalp clawed raw in others. Black strands of hair trickled down hesitantly around the ears while the forehead was bleeding from being scratched so harshly. The nose only had one nostril; there simply wasn't another one that had formed. Its mouth was twisted into a bloody mess of toothless gums and opened sores.

And then there were the eyes. They seemed to be taken from a different puzzle altogether. Unlike the rest of the creature's miserable, beaten and bloody body, the eyes remained unharmed. Whereas the remainder of the monster's body had come from Hell, the deep brown eyes were almost heavenly.

"Who is this?" Logan asked, although he knew the answer upon first seeing such a devil.

"This," Lydecker said very dryly, "is X3-452. Max's clone."


	17. Guilt

Zack ran through the snow, his legs pumping violently as they dug into the wet ice on the ground. Already he could feel a cramp forming in his thigh from having to push against the snow instead of being able to run freely on the ground without any hindrance. 

There was a cry from behind him as one of Lydecker's men spotted him. A quick glance behind told Zack that he was going to have to either pick the pace up greatly or get out of their shooting range. If he continued to go at the rate he was going, he would most surely be captured right along next to Max.

Max. God, they had her and it was his entire fault! Had he not allowed Max to take that devil of a woman, she would have been safe and right by his side. 

With the guilt of Max's capture pressing heavily upon Zack, he was able to speed through the snow and ice of the forest, efficiently losing the men. But, he knew that they would be able to follow his snowy footsteps. So, he swung himself up into one of the nearby trees and jumped from tree to tree until he was enough distance away that the soldiers wouldn't even think of looking for him in that area.

Zack landed in a snowy bank and immediately regretted that he had jumped down from the trees so soon. Now, he not only had to think about the capture of Max, but also about freezing to death in wet pants and shirt. 

No, he told himself, you will not die. Not while Max is still in their hands. It's all about mind over matter, Zack. How hard is that?

Pushing himself up and out of the snow, Zack knew that he was going to have to get reinforcements. He had only one gun-a tiny pistol at that-and himself. He needed to get to a phone and call the others, or steal a better gun, perhaps an Uzi to efficiently wipe out Lydecker that demon lady.

But which way was humanity? He was alone in the forest, in the middle of the night, surrounded by snow and trees for as far as he could see. If he had been thinking right when he had jumped the Manticore fence, he would've headed for the motorcycles. But, now, he didn't even know where those were, let alone where he was.

Yet, Zack refused to just give up. He had to keep on moving so that the blood in his body would keep on flowing and therefore he wouldn't freeze to death. Taking long, efficient strides, Zack moved swiftly through the snowy world.

Suddenly, out of nowhere there was a noise like someone stepping on a stick. Zack immediately flattened himself against a tree and pulled out the gun for extra precautionary measures. Great. Who could it be now?  
A shadowy figure walked slowly towards Zack, but not seeing him as they limped along. Hesitantly, Zack moved closer to the person, observing that they were injured and were going to have a harder time attacking him.

He would have been prepared for Lydecker, or any of his men, or even that Manticore lady herself, but he certainly wasn't prepared for the person that came hobbling towards him.

Brin.


	18. Clone

There was a moment of stilled silence when neither Logan nor Lydecker said anything. Logan's mind was screaming at him that this monster before him could not be related to the beautiful Max. It wasn't possible. 

But, then there were those eyes. Those glittering brown eyes that were so utterly perfect and Logan knew that lying to himself wasn't going to help anybody.

"What's your point?" Logan asked Lydecker, although he was speaking more to the floor than to the other man.

"My point is that this is what Max could become if she does not receive our new treatment."

"It's not possible…" Logan whispered.

"Yes, Mr. Cale, it's very possible."

"But…this _thing._" At that moment, the creature's head lifted and its eyes burned bright as if it knew Logan was talking about it. Logan shuddered and tried to ignore such a ghastly spectacle.

"This thing is, indeed, a monster unto itself. But it is Max's clone nonetheless. They share the same DNA after all, the same essence that makes up all of us."

"So what you're trying to tell me is that if I don't tell you where Max is, she'll become this?"

"Exactly."  
"But I-" Logan began, but stopped as he was unsure as to what to say to such a man like Lydecker.

"I understand that you care about her very deeply, and I'm sure she would understand that all of this would be done out of love."

Logan looked up from the floor, his eyes suddenly burning. "And what would _you_ know about love?"

"More than you'd think, Mr. Cale." They met eyes, but Logan was the first to look away. Lydecker stiffly walked over to Logan and crouched down beside him. He rested his hand on Logan's. Logan tried to jerk away, but being tied to wheelchair certainly does restrain much movement.

"If you tell me, I'll allow you to come with me to make sure that she's not hurt."

Logan shook his head. He couldn't tell. Max would never forgive him.

"I promise she won't be hurt, Mr. Cale. In fact, her hurt will be lifted if she comes her to receive treatments."  
"Will you let her go once she receives treatments?"  
"Yes," Lydecker acknowledged. It wasn't a lie, after all. The treatments would be the brainwashing, and Max would need to be let go in order to start the search for the remaining X5s. 

"You promise?" Logan asked hoarsely.

"On my life, I promise that she will be let go once she receives her treatments."

  
Logan licked his parched lips. Could he really be doing this? "The house is in sector…it's an apartment-"

  
At that moment, the door to the downstairs opened and two men came running up to Lydecker. He rose to his feet and waited for them to salute before asking, "What the hell is the meaning of this?"

  
"Sir, we have a captured X5 in the building."

  
"Under whose command was this X5 captured?"

  
"Hers, sir."

  
Lydecker sighed heavily. Great. Another plan sabotaged by Renfro. Now, he'd never get Logan to say where Max was. "Who is it?" Lydecker asked reluctantly. 

"Sir, it's X5-452." 

Both Logan's and Lydecker's faces dropped, but only Logan felt the oncoming of tears while Lydecker couldn't be any more ecstatic if he had tried.


	19. Sister

"Brin," Zack whispered and approached her cautiously. There was dried blood smeared up and down her arm where she had punched through glass and a dark bruise was beginning to form above her left eye. But, despite her injuries, she was still ready to kill. 

A feeling of guilt spread over Zack that was so strong, he let the gun drop reluctantly to his side instead of being pointed outwards. He had done this to her. He was the one who had caused this gigantic nightmare. If only he had gotten her out…

"X5-599," Brin whispered through blood-smeared teeth that glistened under the pale moonlight.

"Zack," he corrected her.

"No," she hissed. "Zack does not exist. You _are _X5-599. The one and only."

"Brin, stop it."

"Why? You afraid that a soldier is going to disobey your order? Make you remember what you really are?"

"I never was one of them!" 

"You'll always be one of them…one of us, I should say."

"Never," Zack growled.

She approached with the stealth of a tiger. Zack stiffened and realized that whatever premonitions he had had of this being Brin, they were all gone now. This wasn't Brin; it was a killing machine. He held the gun straight out in front of him.

"You're going to shoot me?" Brin asked, slightly amused. 

"I will if I need to."

"That'd look real good. A captain killing one of his soldiers."  
"You're not my soldier."  
"Then what am I?" Brin sneered.

Zack didn't answer for he didn't know the answer. A creature from hell was the only response that came into his mind and he let that drop. Instead, he waited for her to speak.

"That's what I thought," she said to him. 

"It'll never be what you think. You're a monster."

"And you're blind and stupid, following the wrong leader."

"I have no leader," he spat.

"Exactly. You're a powerful pawn Zack, but a pawn nonetheless. You need a leader."

"Never."

"You can come with me." Zack didn't answer at first, but gritted his teeth and aimed the gun directly at Brin, knowing that if he had to kill her, he would.

"I'd rather die," Zack replied, but as soon as he had said it, he instantly regretted it.

"You have a death wish, then? At least you're thinking right in that concept." In a flash, Brin had knocked the gun out of Zack's hands and it disappeared beneath the glittering snow. She grabbed him by the wrists and twisted them around, so that he fell onto his back in the snow with a groan. Immediately, he was back up on his feet, fists poised and ready to kill. This wasn't Brin, but a devil. A monster. The enemy that needed to be destroyed. 

He lashed out and kicked her smartly in the side. Brin recoiled slightly, but retorted by immediately grabbing him by his ankle and twisting it around. This time, Zack threw himself up in the air, spiraling in a tight circle horizontally as she let go of his ankle. Landing on the ground, Zack felt the gun beneath him. Frantically, he tried to find it, knowing that Brin wouldn't hesitate to kill him. 

She approached him from behind and grabbed him by the neck. Zack screamed in outrage and pain as he kicked behind him and slammed into her leg. Brin refused to let go. "Good night, big brother," she hissed right before she decided to crack his neck.

Immediately, Zack whipped around in such a flash that Brin let go and aimed the gun at her. "No," he hissed. "Good night, sister," and he pulled the trigger. 

Brin's eyes widened as she stared at the gaping, bloody hole that had formed within her chest, piercing her blackened heart. Blood spilled out, staining the snow below her as she toppled backwards. Slowly, he rose to his feet and began to walk away from her. "Zack…" she hissed, her dying words barely a whisper. 

Zack stopped from turning away and waited to hear what she had to say in case she would actually apologize for all that she had done. "Zack, you-you'll always be a pawn…" she choked out as the blood invaded her lungs, cutting off her oxygen supply.

"No," Zack whispered to himself as he put the gun back into his pocket. "You'll always be the monster."


	20. Luxury

Lydecker paused for a moment, thinking of what to do now that Max was back. "Take Mr. Cale to a room where he will be most comfortable," he said to the soldier that stood before him. "Perhaps one of the available A rooms."

"A, sir?" the soldier asked in almost disbelief.

"Yes, A. Now take him. Where's the girl?"

"She has her in medical confiscation."

Lydecker snorted angrily. "Medical confiscation, my ass. She's not going to brainwash my kids her way anymore." Pushing past the startled guard, Lydecker began to climb the stairs leading to medical confiscation. 

Logan still sat, appalled at what he had just witnessed and too dumbstruck to speak, when one of the guards came behind him and began to push his wheelchair into the elevator. 

Please don't kill me, Logan silently pleaded as he worried that now that Lydecker had Max, Logan no longer had any use. Maybe Lydecker figures it'll be better that I'm dead so I don't talk. Logan bit down hard on his jaw as he remembered the popular phrase of, "Dead men don't talk."

The elevator rose with a slow humming until they had reached what must've been the top floor. As Logan had assumed, the guard said nothing to him, but simply watched the lights go by until the doors slid open.

Logan was amazed at what he saw as they entered the hallway. There was a rich maroon carpeting on the floor laced with golden Baroque style leaves. The walls were decorated in matching wallpaper, and the doors that were scattered here and there were of solid oak quality with glittering golden handles. 

"What is this place?" Logan asked, forgetting that a Manticore guard was pushing him.

The guard regarded his question suspiciously for a moment, but answered nonetheless. "Private headquarters."

"You mean, this is where Lydecker stays?"

"I am not under the authority to release such information."

The guard pushed him down to the end of the hallway where he stopped Logan and unlocked the door. Then, the soldier wheeled Logan inside the darkened room and removed his bonds. "You will stay here until summoned," the guard told Logan.

"Thank you," Logan replied quietly as the soldier walked out the room. He heard the other man stop and think about what Logan had just told him. 

Then, flicking on the lights, the solider replied, "You're welcome." And with a careful twist, he closed and locked the door behind him, leaving Logan alone. 

Inside the room was a twin-sized bed in a forest green blanket along with coordinating carpeting. A large window on the far side of the room gave Logan a view of the forest below. There was a bathroom off to his right, Logan discovered, that was accessible and furnished along with not only a toilet, but shower, sink, and towels. On the opposite side of the room from the bathroom, there was an empty closet. 

Well, Logan thought to himself, I can see why Lydecker doesn't want to have Manticore fall. He'll lose his luxurious sleeping quarters. 

But, why did he give me such a nice place to stay? Logan wondered. Is it because I'm valuable to him? Why?

Logan stretched out his cramped hands and wheeled himself over to the window where glittering snow fell heavily. And far off in the distance, he could have sworn that he saw the shadowy figure of someone watching him in the lit window.


	21. Spawn

On the crest overlooking the Manticore base, Zack stood with his feet planted heavily in the thick and glittering snow. He was as oblivious to the cold as he was with his feelings at that moment. For, if he had tried to think about the freezing ice that gathered around his ankles and spilled into his socks, creating tiny ice balls that clung to his bare skin, he would have burst into sobs once the emotions invaded his body.

He had killed Brin. 

Yes, it had been necessary because she would've have killed him without a moment's hesitation. After all, the only thing that she would have had to do would be to have flicked her hand, and his neck would have snapped. And there were a thousand more ways to die that Zack preferred than having his bones broken by a spawn of Lydecker.

Tenderly, Zack reached up to touch the spot on his neck where Brin had touched it with her bare hands. It burned now. Burned as his barcode had when he had gotten that removed. 

Biting down hard on his cold jaw, Zack pushed the memories away of both the barcode and Brin. He couldn't sit and dwell on memories now or else he would become a big sobbing piece of flesh that couldn't help anyone.

Looking up to the top floor of the Manticore building, he saw a distinctly lit window. Using his enforced eyesight, he saw Logan sitting in front of the window, watching him. 

So, they hadn't killed little Miracle Boy after all. Zack wasn't sure whether to be happy for Max or to scream in frustration that Logan was still around. 

As he shoved his hands deeper into the chilled leather of his jacket, Zack began to turn and walk away, letting his feet crunch through the thick snow. Snow poured in through the top of his shoes and froze his already numbed skin. 

Now, he not only had Max's escape to worry about, but Logan's as well. If Max found out that Logan was in there, she wouldn't leave until he was at her side. And, considering that Logan wasn't anywhere near light on his feet, the escape would be frantic and ill planned.

Zack walked heavily through the woods, knowing that he was leaving trails. Fine, he thought bitterly to himself, if they want to follow my footsteps, let them. Won't do them any good. Just get the little devils more confused than they already are. For surely, you have to be confused if you're following someone like Lydecker.

Unsure of what to do next, Zack merely kept on plodding along, trying his best to ignore the pain of the cold. He didn't want to invade Manticore alone, but contacting someone would take time. Time that he really couldn't value to waste. They wouldn't immediately start brainwashing Max; they'd wait and test her until the order was given. So, time was of the essence because if he couldn't get to Max, she too, would end up like Brin.

Not what he needed.

Pulling the gun out of his jacket, Zack checked it for a bullet amount. Three. Five, at the very most. He could take down a couple guards by himself and then shoot the Manticore Lady, and kill Lydecker while he was at.

Nodding satisfactorily, he decided to continue through the forest to find a better gun. Five bullets wouldn't save him if he needed to. Max and Logan both weren't going to be able to defend themselves; he needed better ammunition.

He continued through the snow-encrusted forest and pulled away from the memories so that they couldn't touch him. Then, as he remembered Brin's dying words, Zack crumpled and fell to the ground, trying not to cry so that the tears wouldn't freeze his numbed skin.


	22. Identification

The first thing Tinga noticed when she awoke was the absence of water. Her eyes still refused to open, so she inhaled deeply and let true air filter into her swollen lungs. It took a moment or two before she could finally accept the fact that she was no longer in the water, but once again on land, breathing like a normal human being. 

Then, she opened her eyes. 

At first a pit of dread formed in her stomach as she took in her surroundings, but went away quickly enough as a thought entered her mind: I'm free. 

She was no longer wearing the black outfit that she had worn in the tank, but instead a baggy shirt and pair of pants that were starched and a light blue-old Manticore uniform. Her arms and legs were tied down with thick, black straps, but when she flexed her arm, she discovered that the straps would bend slightly to accommodate the movement. Tied up tight above her head, her hair still felt slightly damp, which led Tinga to believe that she hadn't been out of the tank that long.

Lying on a medical table, she was surrounded by various instruments and beakers on the walls. All of them had a purpose, but only some of their purposes were known to Tinga. Rolling her throbbing head to the side, she watched as a heavy iron door opened.

The man that walked in was familiar to her, but yet she knew that they weren't close friends or anything of that sort. He was a short, skinny little man with a balding brown head and wire glasses. And, even though his looks may have been something to laugh at, the gun that produced an irregular bump underneath his lab coat was not.

He walked over to Tinga, reached for the hand closest to him and began to take her pulse. She watched him carefully, with close fascination almost. Finally, he nodded his head approvingly and pursed his thin lips. 

"Renfro and X5-734 would have been here to bring you back to Manticore," he was saying to Tinga as he began to clean out some test tubes. "But, unfortunately, they were in a terrible car accident." He sounded as if he was talking more to himself than to Tinga. 

She said nothing because she was unsure as to who this Renfro person was. Also, the name of X5-734 sounded rather familiar, but yet she was unable to connect a face with the name. But, that wasn't important at the moment. What was important was trying to decode the doctor's mumbled words. 

"It looks like I'm going to have to take you there myself. Lydecker will not be pleased if he finds out that an X5 has been hidden from him once he knows that Renfro's been killed. And, _I'm_ not going to be the one to tell him that I've been working for her over him. Plus, I very well can't keep you here; only Lydecker and Renfro know what to do with you training." He glanced over at her and sighed heavily. "You don't understand any of what I'm saying-do you?"

Tinga nodded slowly; she understood most of it.

"Anyhow, I really do not want to sedate you because I'm afraid that will trigger the new enzyme in your body to start producing the wrong kind of chemical, and I certainly don't want that. So, will you agree to come along peacefully?"  
She nodded again.

The doctor smiled slightly and began to undo her straps. Tinga didn't move until all the straps were removed. Then, the doctor offered his hand to her as she stood on solid ground for the first time that she could remember. 

"Wait," Tinga said to the doctor who immediately paused in case she was planning to kill him. 

"Yes?"  
"What will I be called? I do not know who I am," Tinga admitted to him.

The doctor didn't know what to say to the confused X5 in front of him. But, if she was going to work for Lydecker, knowledge of her identification number would be necessary. "You will be called X5-656."  
"X5-656," she said softly to herself, and the last of her memories disappeared from her mind. 


	23. Committee

Lydecker watched the sleeping Renfro carefully, the knowledge that she was working behind his back planted firmly in his mind. He took a sip of the bottled water at his side; he couldn't start drinking at a time like this no matter how strong the urge to let himself be taken away by the alcohol.

Finally, she stirred and her bruised eyelids fluttered for a moment before slowly opening completely. She glanced around the room, then, seeing Lydecker sitting in the corner, froze. Then, she sighed contently and sat up in the bed. 

"'Deck," she said, smiling broadly.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?"

"What are you talking about?"  
"Taking X5-734 off of the premises without authority to go to some unknown place, is what I'm talking about."  
"We had a problem that needed to be tended to. It was an emergency."

"Then how come I wasn't informed?"

"You were busy, I heard, with this Mr. Logan Cale. Now, 'Deck, who exactly is this man?"  
"Quit trying to change the subject," Lydecker snapped as he leaned forward in the chair, cradling the bottle between his fingers.

"Trying to stay sober?" she mocked.

"Where's X5-734?"

"What?"  
"Where is she? You were the only one brought back to Manticore. She was not."

"I'm not sure. Have your men checked the crash site?"  
"Yes. They've only found one body and that was the driver's. If you have her somewhere, I swear…"

"Calm down 'Deck. I don't have the girl."

"And where in the world did you manage to get X5-452?"

"She brought me here." 

"Bull-shit," Lydecker hissed, knowing how cunning and untruthful his adversary could be.

"It's the truth. Why don't you ask her yourself?"  
"I'm working on that, but you're my main person now."

"Who's Logan Cale?"  
"What was the emergency?"

"Logan Cale, 'Deck."

"The emergency."

Renfro paused for a moment before answering. She could tell Lydecker the truth. After all, what was the worst he could do? Attempt to kick her out of the Committee-again? She had friends in high places; he did not. Therefore, leaving Manticore was out of the question.

"I know where X5-656 is."  
"You what?!" Lydecker cried, his voice rising to a high pitch. The bitch had to be lying now, no doubt about it. How in the world would she know where Tinga was? It was impossible.

"I know where X5-656 is," Renfro repeated.

"You lying witch," Lydecker hissed underneath his breath.

"You don't believe me? She'll be here in a couple minutes, fully ready for training."

"You brainwashed my kid?"

"She's not yours, 'Deck."

"She is so. You had no hand in her beginning. And now, you tell me that you've been hiding her?" He laughed hoarsely. "You're madder than I thought."

"You couldn't have handled her."  
"_I _couldn't have han-. Then, how in the world did you?"  
"I have my ways, 'Deck."

"Of course."

"Now, who's this Logan Cale person?"

"Who's told you?"

"Like I said, I have my ways."

"He could help bring down the others."

"How so?"

"He's gullible and willing to do anything to help X5-452. Apparently, they're in some kind of relationship together."

"And you're going to break their relationship up?"  
"It already is."

"You were always the best at break ups," Renfro commented. There was a still pause before Lydecker cleared his throat and rose to his feet. 

"X5-452 and X5-656 are mine," he told her.

"No."

At that moment, Lydecker's two-way radio went off. He lifted it to his mouth and responded, "Lydecker."

"Alpha Team, here, sir."

"Yes?"

"We've found X5-734."  
"Where?"

"In the woods, sir."

"Bring her in, then."

"Sir, she's dead."


	24. Alcoholic

Max didn't dare to open her eyes for she knew exactly where she was. The thick binds may have been placed over her wrists and ankles, but the one that hurt the most was the one over her heart that no one else could see. She had failed. Failed not only Logan, but Zack as well. She could easily picture Zack's vapid face as he shook his head at her, reminding her that she let sentimentalities make decisions for her. Now, she thought, I'm paying for it. And, Logan won't ever get out because Zack certainly won't save him, and I cannot either. We're all doomed. Doomed to die here in this hellhole.

In the distance, she heard a door opening and hesitantly opened her eyes. As she had ultimately assumed, she was in a confiscation area of some kind. But, that wasn't what surprised her the most. It was that through the heavy, iron door walked Lydecker.

He moved with a slow, plodding pace like one might during a funeral procession, and he had a bottle of water hanging from his right hand. Max was amazed to see that his usually vibrant and stealthy eyes were dull and lifeless.

As if it took all the energy he had, Lydecker pulled up a rotating stool on wheels and sat down beside Max. She said nothing, but watched him intently. He was lifeless and hurting, and she didn't know why all of sudden he would act so odd.

"I'm guessing you haven't heard anything," he said more to his water bottle than to her.

"What are you talking about?"

Slowly, his head enormously heavy, Lydecker turned to look at her. She was surprised to smell no alcohol on his breath nor to see the bloodshot eyes of an alcoholic. But, he was struggling nonetheless.

"Your sisters. You haven't heard-have you?"

"No."

Lydecker pursed his lips and nodded to himself. He hated to tell Max the news he had arrived with. After all, he would do anything to prevent her from being hurt. But, at the same time, she needed to know. She had a right to. Not just as a sibling, but as a human.

"Brin…is…" He stopped and took a long swig of water. Eventually, he stopped swallowing and let the water drain into his mouth so that it may have cleansed him of all the wrongdoings in his life that had led to this annihilation.

"What's wrong with Brin?" Max asked cautiously. Just because Lydecker may have looked sober and solemn, didn't mean that he couldn't snap at any moment. In her book, he was dangerous as long as he was alive.

"She's dead," Lydecker finally stated.

Max inhaled sharply and turned away from him so that he would not see the tears that coated her eyes over. No, she thought, Brin can't be dead. And it's all my fault, if I hadn't let her go back…

"Tinga's lost to us, too," Lydecker added.

Max stopped her guilt from invading her mind and held it carefully at bay. "What?" she whispered to the ceiling.

"She's been brainwashed-"

"And you had nothing to do with this?" Max bit, even though the threat of tears was severely harsh.

"Nothing. If I had, I could stop it. But, I don't know how it was done. And the person who did will take that secret to their grave."

"Tinga's gone then?"

"Yes. Max, I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen." He was babbling now. Mindless and unplanned babbling as he realized what he had done to Max. What he had done to the fate of Manticore. If only he had stopped Renfro, then perhaps Brin would still be alive and Tinga would be fine.

"If you never meant for this to happen," she said quietly, "then you should have never created us."

"But, you…all of you…were better than I could have hoped for. Everything would have gone according to plan had she not became involved."

"She?"

"Renfro, the bitch that ruined your sisters."

"And the one who I saved," Max muttered, realized how many mistakes she had made in the past twenty-four hours.

"So, you did, then?"

"Yes." She paused and turned to face Lydecker. He seemed weak enough, gullible too. Perhaps he could be reasoned with. "Lydecker?" she said, addressing him for the first time since she had escaped eleven years ago.

He looked up slowly and they met eyes. Surprisingly, he was the first to look away.

"I have a request for you," she told him.

"Yes?"

"I want…I want you to release Logan Cale from your possession and take me instead."


	25. Oak Door

Logan pushed himself away from the window and rubbed his burning eyes. It must have all been inside his head; there was nobody on the hilltop now. He was crazier than he'd thought. Perhaps it was just fatigue finally getting to him. After all, he'd been kidnapped in the late afternoon, and now it was the middle of the night. He needed to get some sleep. But did he dare sleep in a place such as this?  
Wheeling himself into the bathroom, Logan was surprised to discover that the doorway was big enough to accommodate his wheelchair. Not many places were nowadays. Maybe one of the former generals had been in a wheelchair just like him. No, Logan told himself, a general in a wheelchair would be a weak general, and in this place they certainly don't tolerate weakness.

He removed the glasses that had been given to him and placed them on the edge of the white porcelain sink. Logan let the water run for a moment or two, just listening to the soothing sound of it when everything else in the world was so chaotic. Finally, he cupped his hands underneath the faucet and splashed the water onto his face. 

The cold water felt good to his hot skin. Slowly, he looked upwards into the mirror above the sink and studied his reflection curiously. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen from adjusting to the crudeness of the substitute pair of glasses he had been given. The bottom of his face was scraggly looking where he had not been able to shave and excess hair poked up. The top of his lip was swollen into a puffy mass of skin and liquid underneath, due to the horrendous cut with dried blood. And, like a battle mark, there was a dark bruise along his hairline that was turning from a dull red to a vibrant purple.

Tenderly he touched it and then drew his fingers back, hissing in pain. He didn't think that a bruise could hurt so much. Guess I was wrong, he thought miserably to himself as he reached for a washcloth hanging by the side of the sink.

He ran the green washcloth underneath the water until fully saturated and freezing cold. Then, he wrung it out and laid it against the side of his head. Perhaps now, his hellish headache would be eased. 

Not bothering to put the glasses back on, Logan wheeled himself back out into the living area. He was tempted to get out of his wheelchair and lie down on the bed to catch some sleep. After all, why else would Lydecker have given him such a fine room unless he wanted Logan to rest? Maybe he's just trying to give me some pleasure in the last moments of my life, Logan thought as he rested his elbows on the window frame.

Far below, guards walked along the chain-link fence, scouring the area for any traces of an escapee. All were dressed in black and had both a real gun and a tayzer strapped to their sides. It would definitely have to be a genetically engineered human to beat those guys. But then Logan couldn't even walk on his legs without falling over, let alone run past some guards.

Sighing heavily, Logan pushed the wheelchair back over to the bed, knowing that he would need to get some sleep or else Lydecker would be able to have a definite advantage over him. 

But, just as he had set the brake on his wheelchair and was preparing to push himself onto the bed, there was a knock at the door. Logan's eyebrows narrowed in confusion. But, he called back, "Come in."

The heavy oak door opened and in stepped Lydecker. He looked just as tired and pained as Logan did-just that Lydecker was used to it with all of his military training. "Mr. Cale?" Lydecker asked, his voice thick and groggily.

"Yes?"  
"I would like you to meet someone."  
A knot formed in Logan's stomach. Here it is, my executioner, the person he has planned to take me down. But, Logan nodded blankly, unsure of what to say.

Lydecker turned behind him and pulled the person into the room. Chained at both ankles and wrists, they couldn't help but look pathetic. Yet, upon meeting eyes with Logan, they both wanted to cry. 

Max.


	26. Authority

"Ma'am?" There was a low groan as the person being spoken to looked up slowly at the second in command of the Delta squad. 

"Ma'am?" he repeated.

Finally, Renfro sighed and responded to his pestering questions. "Yes?"

"Are you feeling well enough to get out of bed and walk around, ma'am?" 

"I'm sure I can manage. But, why?"

"X5-656 is soon arriving on the premises, ma'am."

Immediately, Renfro snapped fully awake upon hearing his words. X5-656! What the hell did they think they were doing by bringing her in with Lydecker in the area? Was that doctor insane? "Under whose authority was this movement directed?" she asked the soldier, rubbing at the temple on her forehead where three stitches had been required to sew her torn scalp back up. 

The commander shifted uneasily from his right foot to his left, completely unsure as to what to answer the lady who had been dubbed as "mentally unstable" by his boss, Lydecker. Perhaps she really was, or perhaps she was just another lunatic after those damned kids. 

But, either way, he didn't know the answer to her question. Lydecker hadn't told him to bring the X5. In fact, Lydecker didn't even know where she was being kept beforehand. Obviously, he certainly was going to find out very soon that an X5 had been kept hidden from him. And, the commander didn't want to be talking about his captain before Lydecker went into a raging fury over the newly discovered X5.

So, the commander said nothing to Renfro and waited for her to speak.

She glared coldly at this man who dared not to answer her. Why wouldn't he answer her? Certainly he knew something that would upset her, and therefore would not respond to her question. His silence led Renfro to believe that it was 'Deck who had ordered the replacement movement, but she had to be completely sure before drawing such harsh assumptions.

"Under whose authority was this movement directed?" she repeated, her voice as sharp and as harsh as the glass that had pierced her flesh.

"Your question, ma'am, is unanswerable."

"Unanswerable?!" she snapped, flying forward into a full sitting position. "Like hell it's unanswerable. You and I both know who gave the damn order-don't we?"

The soldier said nothing more, but gave a curt little salute. He wasn't afraid of Renfro because he definitely had no reason to be. But at the same point, he wasn't about to go arguing with someone in higher authority than he. "X5-656 will be waiting in room C23, if you would like to see her, ma'am."

"Fine," she bit savagely. "Now get out."

The commander, happy to be rid of the psychotic lady, nearly ran right out of her A-level room and made sure to close the door tightly behind him. After all, if she were decide to attack him from behind, going through an oak door surely would be a hindrance.

Once the door was closed, Renfro sighed and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her head burned and eyes seemed ready to fall out of their sockets from the pain caused by the accident. She briefly thought of X5-734, but let that thought die because that soldier had abandoned her in Renfro's time of need. A solider like that shouldn't be kept anyhow.

Renfro pulled on a pair of loose-fitting boots and a black jacket that fell to her ankles and stood up. The entire room spun for a moment, but she refused to give up when victory was so close at that. So utterly close.

She walked carefully down the lavish hallway, so as to not to make any noise that 'Deck might hear. Although, she did overhear him talking with someone, she decided not to dwell on it because she had to get to X5-656 before he did.

She took the elevators because she knew that she surely would've fallen down the stairs and that would have been an absolute nightmare. The elevator hummed smoothly as the flashing lights went from A floor to C. Finally, it stopped and Renfro stepped out.

C floor was where most of the commissioned X5s were kept or any other X5s for that matter. The X5 floor. What a charming name.

She arrived at C23 and opened the door almost hesitantly, unsure as to what could be behind the heavy iron door. 

There, in a chair, sat a girl whose eyes were sharp and dark and face sculpted into harsh lines instead of motherly curves. She rose when Renfro entered and saluted sharply. Tinga now was a predator that woke up in the night with the sound of her heat pounding in her ears, the taste of blood inside of her mouth because she was a like a wolf in sheep's clothing that had hid her instincts every minute of every day, and now those instincts were unleashed. She was a soldier…a hunter…a killer.

But, Renfro, the lady with a blackened heart, could only smile a witch's smile and whisper to herself, "She's beautiful." 


	27. Bombs

Zack crouched down in the musty store, admiring the different kinds of ammunition stored behind the glass. All were equally dangerous, but only some were more than deadly. After all, you could kill a person, but sometimes torture was the best method to use. Especially for the people he had in mind. 

The man behind the counter leaned heavily on the glass case and took a long drag of his shriveled cigarette through yellowed, missing teeth. Zack winced as he heard the glass squeak under the man's weight. "Well, ya decided on sumthin' yet?" the man asked because Zack had been inside the store for over an hour, picking out exactly what he wanted. One could never be too careful when it came to weaponry. 

"You got explosives?" Zack asked as he rose slowly to his feet and heard his knees crack.

"Explosives?" the man echoed as the stale smoke wafted around him.

"You heard me. Grenades, pipe bombs…bombs."

The man chuckled so that his whole hairy, rank body underneath the thin, white muscle T-shirt jiggled. Zack, if he weren't running on such a tight schedule, would have considered vomiting. 

"You want bombs, 'den? B'lieve me. I gots bombs." 

"Let me see," Zack ordered harshly.

"Just hold on there, sonny," the man said and stuck the slowly dying cigarette back into his mouth. He waddled to a door in the back of the store and rummaged around in there for some time.

Zack, meanwhile, admired how full this little shack was. He had been here a couple times-only when he was in a real tight situation for ammunition. In fact, Zack was surprised that the man didn't recognize him by this point and call the cops. But yet, considering that the man wasn't smoking just tobacco, Zack decided that it was probably for the best. 

The shack was actually an underground storehouse for some of the best military ammunition in the country. The man who lived in it got the ammunition from all over the country due to the fact that people came directly to him to trade. Yet, the man still had more enemies than he had friends.

In pre-pulse times the store would have been illegal and the man would've been jailed. But this was the post-pulse times where you survived by making your own rules and not running by the government's. You went by the government you ended up getting shot by assassins that thought you were nothing but a brown-nosed liar. You went by your own rules, the government would send out their own men after you. Either way, the situation wasn't good. This is why Zack sometimes saw himself as lucky; he was part of the government running by his own rules.

He walked back to the counter and drummed his fingers rapidly over the glass display of pistols and rifles. Why couldn't that man hurry? It wasn't like Zack had all day to sit around, waiting for that fat slug to move his hairy ass.

Finally, the man came out of the back room carrying a large black suitcase. "This is all I gots," he told Zack as he panted from sheer exhaustion.

"What's in it?"  
"Whatcha wanted. Bombs."

"How many?"

"Twenty, thirty. I dunno."

"I'll take 'em."  
"Whatcha gots for a trade or money? But I don't s'pose you gots money."

Zack reached inside of his jacket and pulled out the guns from Renfro and Brin, and then the remaining ammunition from Brin's dead body. 

The man admired the weaponry closely. "Very nice," he commented. "But it wouldn't be 'nough to pay for all of 'deese bombs."

"Put it on my tab," Zack replied as he clutched the handle of the suitcase in his right hand.

"What?" the man asked, not understanding. But, by that time, Zack had disappeared out into the dying snow, ready to complete his mission.


	28. Handcuffs

Max and Logan stared directly at one another, tears coating over their burning eyes and their emotions unfolding. He nearly had fallen right out of his wheelchair at the sight of her, and he would've pulled himself along the floor by the tips of his fingers if it would have put him any closer to Max. Any closer to stroking his chocolate curls, to staring into her big, brown beautiful eyes, to kiss her sweet rosy lips. He would have done anything. 

But, instead, he remained seated in his wheelchair that wasn't really even his, fingering the brakes as if they somehow would propel him across the room to her. 

Or maybe he was dreaming and had finally gone insane after all the mental pressure Lydecker had put upon him. No, Logan firmly told himself, this is Max. This is what you spend every minute-awake or sleeping-dreaming about. This is the girl you write poetry for. This is the person that doesn't give a damn about the wheelchair and loves you nonetheless.

He would have done anything just to kiss her right then and there. 

Max's heart had dropped right out of her cavity and had fallen somewhere inside of her stomach. He was alive! Logan was alive! This was what she had hoped to find. But, now that he was alive, how could she free both he and herself? 

She fingered the cold metal that wrapped around her wrists like cheap jewelry. Unlike some of her fellow X5s, she was unable to snap the chain that held the two bracelets. Zack certainly could, Ben and Zane perhaps, and Tinga was a possibility. But her? If she tried it, then would Lydecker kill Logan right in front of her so that his blood would forever stain her soul? 

But, all she wanted to do was kiss him, and tell him how sorry she was for everything. 

Lydecker had been carefully watching the unsaid feelings pass between Logan and Max. For a moment, he thought of abandoning the entire plan he had set up to begin with because it was so sweet to watch them together. 

He shook his head silently to himself. No. You give up on this plan, you'll give up on all of Manticore's future. Just do it. You know what has to be done.

"Max," he said quietly to her. "You may go to Logan."  
Although she was in handcuffs, Logan was not. She knelt down on the floor and crawled towards him, praying that Lydecker wasn't about to stab a gun into her back. 

Logan's fingers finally came unglued from the arm of his wheelchair, and they reached for Max like a drowning man reaches for the surface. He wrapped her cold body up in his arms, and he held her for what seemed like an eternity. Tears fell from both of their eyes, splattering the clothing that they wore, and also making it rather difficult to see each other through blurry eyes. 

Just as they leaned their heads up to kiss, Lydecker spoke, bringing down the ax upon their heads. 

"Now that you know each other are alive, I'm assuming that you'll both be willing to cooperate in any future plans that I may have. Otherwise, if you do not cooperate, the other person will die."


	29. Enemy

Renfro approached the erect Tinga, eyeing her over like one does a new outfit. This new Tinga wore a black cat suit, with her hair tied tightly up into a bun. Her eyes were glazed over as if they really did not belong to the body that they were in. Naturally, they didn't; her eyes were the only things left from the kind, warm Tinga. Everything now was a hard-core killer. 

"Do you know who I am?" Renfro asked Tinga as she sat down in one of the chairs so as to ease her pains from the car accident.

"No, ma'am."  
"Well then, you shall learn soon enough. You may know me as Madame X. Madame for the head title superiority. X for the X-series in which I'm about to take total control of."

Tinga blinked for a moment, then answered, "Yes, ma'am, Madame X, ma'am."

Renfro smiled wickedly. The girl hadn't even gone through level 1 military training and already she was better than most of the remaining X5s. Very impressive. "Now," she said to Tinga, leaning in closer, "do you know who _you_ are?"

"I was told, ma'am, that I was to be called X5-656, ma'am."

"Do you know who Donald Michael Lydecker is, soldier?"  
There was a pause as Tinga considered the question being asked of her. She had a vague flickering of a man…in a brown leather jacket…while they ran through the forest, ready to kill…being held captive underwater while he grimaced from above…calling them "his kids". Tinga shook it off. Memories were no longer acceptable. 

"No, ma'am," Tinga replied.

Renfro, seeing that something had come over the girl, waited before responding. So, 'Deck had dived deeper into these kids' minds than she thought. A pity. More brainwashing could be needed then. She would do whatever it would take so that he would be the complete enemy.

"You do not know who Donald Lydecker is?"

"No, ma'am."

"Definitely not, soldier?"  
"No, ma'am. Not at all, ma'am."

"Well, let me tell you this, soldier: Donald Lydecker is your enemy. _The _enemy, in fact. One that needs to be destroyed as quickly as possible. He is working against me for your control; he wants to destroy all of you so that you will work for him. He is a little under six feet tall, medium build, with silver hair that looks like he never bothered to comb it from waking up, and sometimes wears silver glasses. Do you understand soldier?"  
"Yes, ma'am."

"So, you shall destroy him when you see him?"

"On sight, ma'am."  
"Now," Renfro said, leaning back into her chair, "do you know who X5-452 and X5-599 are?"

Another faint flicker passed through Tinga's muddled mind. A blond man breaking through a window with a machine gun…a brown haired girl hugging her…scaling down the side of a brick building…blond man yelling at her for going back to them…Going back? Where? To who? His name started with…a k? No, it was an odd letter. X, or Z. Yes, Z, but what was it?

"Soldier!" Renfro snapped angrily, impatient with Tinga's drifting.

Immediately, Tinga saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"  
"Do you know who X5-452 and X5-599 are?"

"No, ma'am!" she barked, knowing that this Madame X person would want her to be heard.

"They, my dear soldier, are also the enemies, but I want them."

"Yes, ma'am."

"When you find them, they are to be tranquilized and brought immediately to me. You understand?"  
"Yes, ma'am."  
"Soldier, you are dismissed. Wait here until I call for you."

"Yes, ma'am." 

Renfro rose to her feet and left, locking the heavy iron door behind her and leaving Tinga alone in the darkness.

Zack, his name had been Zack.


	30. Bluffing

Max, kneeling on the floor by Logan, whipped her head around in fury. "You lying son of a-"

"It will, of course, be for the good of Manticore," Lydecker argued.

"Manticore, my ass!" She tried to rise to her feet and attack Lydecker, but fell right back down due to the handcuffs around both her wrists and ankles. 

"What do you want us to do?" Logan asked, trying to be in control of the situation. He wouldn't let Max die. He'd do almost anything.

"_Logan!_" Max pleaded. She couldn't believe that he was agreeing to work with Lydecker.

"Mr. Cale, it is not merely what is required of both of you. More or less it's what _you_ have to do."

"Which is what?" Logan asked Lydecker.

"Set up an Eyes Only information hack that informs the remaining X5s that they are under extreme danger and need to report to a specific area to receive orders from their commanding officer."

"But, my equipment?" 

"After I brought you here, I sent my men back to your penthouse to retrieve the remaining parts. I have everything set up in my own personal office down on the C floor. I trust that you'll cooperate?" Lydecker asked through slit eyes.

Logan glanced at Max, who was trying to push herself up off the floor. She glanced at him and shot him a glare that read, "If you do this, don't think of ever talking to me again". 

Yet, Logan wouldn't put Lydecker to the test. Perhaps he really would kill Max. Then, what would Logan be left with? Nothing. Max would never again come into his life. It would be better than she'd be angry with him forever than for her to die.

Nodding blankly in his wheelchair, Logan answered the floor a meek, "Yes."

"Very well then," Lydecker responded and poked his head out of the door, looking for his men. They had all apparently gone somewhere else. He cursed under his breath and stormed out, leaving the door open.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Max hissed. "Helping that monster is the last thing that you need to be doing."

"I don't want to see you die."

"He's bluffing."

"You're sure?"

"No. But, why would he kill me just for the helluva it?"

"I don't know. To make his point?"

Max, by this time, had pushed herself onto her knees. She knelt, glaring evenly at Logan. "His plan will never work."

"What? The Eyes Only plan?"

"What other plan do I know about? Yes, the Eyes Only plan."

"Why won't it?"

"The others aren't stupid enough to go to a building for Zack to give them orders. If he needed to give orders, he would've reached them through his contact numbers. And, when he does see that message, he'll know that Lydecker's behind it. Then, he'll inform the remaining X5s not to respond to it."

"What if he can't get a hold of all of them?"

"Then he'll probably go there himself and keep a close eye out. That's the way he is, you know. Anybody dies, he'll assume that it was his fault."

"So, what exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Max whispered, "go through with Lydecker's damned plan like he wants you to and watch it blow up in his face. He won't know what's hit him until it's too late."

At that moment, Lydecker came back into the room, followed by four of his guards. "You two, take Mr. Cale to my office. The rest of you take X5-452 to her quarters." 

With those orders, Max was dragged to her feet and taken out of the door as she pleaded with Logan through her large doe eyes not to do anything that he'd regret. Logan, on the other hand, was wheeled down the opposite side of the room towards Donald Lydecker's personal office.


	31. Bandage

"Let me go!" Max cried as the men dragged her down the hallways. She could have attempted to fight them off, but it certainly wouldn't have done her much good. After all, there were two of them and one of her-in chains too. 

Her knees skidded along the lavish carpeting as she attempted to slow herself down by becoming dead weight. Instead, the men grabbed her firmly under the arms and shoved her to her feet, forcing her to walk.

"No!" she screamed again. "Let me go!" She brought both of her feet up together and tried kicking one of the men in the back of the knee. He wheeled around, grabbed her by both ankles and threw her so sharply on the ground that it knocked the wind out of her.

She lay, wheezing, on the floor, for a moment. Then, the men picked her back up again and began to drag her down the empty hallway.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, trying to get them to say something, anything.

The men, if they heard her, gave no indication of it. She was a thing. A mere guinea pig that could be tossed wherever and whenever she was needed. They were certainly far too good to talk to the likes of just a lab experiment. 

Instead, they simply shoved her in the elevator so hard that she hit the wall and bounced off of it. They were playing with her like a cat plays with a mouse just before the mouse is eaten. All three of them waited while the elevator dropped down from A floor down to the basement. 

Max froze. The basement. That was where the anomalies lived, where they drank your blood and you never came back. 

She fought with a frenzy this time, biting at the men as if she really was a rabid animal. She tucked her knees up underneath her and snapped out at one of the thick-headed guards. That one toppled to the ground. The other was smarter and pulled out his pistol. He aimed it right at her.

"You move another inch, I won't hesitate to shoot you," he told her.

"Lydecker certainly wouldn't be very happy about that."

The man aimed the gun down and shot Max directly in the foot. She crumpled, blood pooling around her leg. Her face contorted in pain, and she bit down on her bottom lip. 

"It's called military restraining. Anything goes." 

Once they had reached the basement, he grabbed Max by her wrists and pulled her out of the elevator. She didn't want to fight anymore, and her leg was beginning to burn. Probably the s.o.b. used acids in the gunpowder, she thought bitterly.

The guard paused only for a moment to unlock a cell door and throw her inside. 

She lay directly in front of the door, pleading to be heard. Even if Lydecker had to save her, she rather would have had that than to die with the anomalies. She remembered Ben's face just before he had died; how he had pleaded with her to kill him just so he didn't have to live with the anomalies. Now, she pleaded for her own death.

Suddenly, there was a skittering across the darkened room, and Max rolled up, propping herself on her elbow, to see what was coming towards her. 

The creature moved at an awkward hobble because one leg was severely shorter than the other due to genetic deformation. Max saw its glittering eyes focusing in on her. She pulled her legs closer to her and resisted the urge to scream.

The anomaly came closer until she was about a couple inches away from Max. She reached for Max's wounded foot with her sticky, bloody talons. Max jerked her leg closer to her body and tried to stand, but her feet slipped on the concrete floor. She was backed up against the door with nowhere to go.

The anomaly reeked of rotting flesh and sweat, and as she pressed closer to the scared girl, Max tried not to gag on the stench. Finally, the anomaly grabbed Max's foot in such a firm gesture that Max was afraid to pull it away in case the creature decided to rip it right out of her socket and drink her blood.

Examining the wounded, bleeding foot closely for a moment, the anomaly then ripped part of her already ragged uniform. She then removed Max's shoe and sock and wrapped the rag around Max's foot. 

Shocked that such a creature could comprehend a feeling as caring about one another, Max said nothing and watched as the anomaly wrapped her foot up tighter. Then, finished, the anomaly gave it a pat and scurried back to its cot.

"You helped me…" Max said blankly, unsure as to what to say to such a monster. After all, for her whole life, the anomalies had been viewed as something stupid and deformed, never capable of human emotions.

The anomaly stared, her dying mind sorting out the words that had been spoken to her. Finally, after a long moment of hesitation, she nodded.

Even more shocked that the creature understood her, Max tentatively limped over beside it and sat down on the cot next to it.

"What's your name?" she asked it.

The anomaly stared at her, unbelieving that this girl, this beautiful girl, was really talking to her. After all, no one had talked directly to her in over a decade. She had given up all hope of ever carrying on a normal human conversation again.

"I'm Max," Max told the creature. "Who are you?"

"I," the creature said to Max, although her answer was more of a question, "I am Thing."


	32. Brother

Renfro, after snooping around Lydecker's personal files and more, came back to Tinga. She closed the heavy door behind her tightly, just so that no one would be listening in on her conversation with the girl and locked it for added security. Then, pulling up a floppy folding chair, she sat down in it, her pains of the car accident pushed aside for the moment.

Tinga waited for Renfro to speak. She, too, wanted to sit down because, after all, she had been standing at attention for over an hour. Her legs were starting to shake from muscle fatigue, while the soles of her feet were burning. But, she kept her mouth shut and waited with a soldier's dutiful patience. 

"Do you know who X5-452 is?" Renfro asked Tinga, examining her nails where one had been torn in the accident.

"Yes, ma'am. X5-452 is the enemy, ma'am."

"And what are you to do once you find this enemy?"

"I am to tranquilize X5-452 and bring her to you, ma'am."

"Very good. Now, let's say that I know where she is, would you go and get her for me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Renfro nodded, pleased with the willingness that Tinga answered her questions with. Perhaps the death of X5-734 wasn't going to be a total loss after all.

She leaned forward in her chair so that it appeared that she and Tinga were doing nothing more than sharing a harmless bunch of girltalk secrets. But, girltalk didn't involved ruining people's lives by the use of military force.

Tinga blinked, waiting for Madame X's next order as she tried to sort out the jumbled pieces that had become her mind. She had waited, in darkness, for an hour, trying to recall exactly who this Zack person was. Finally, she had remembered.

He was tall, a little bit taller than she was, with shaggy blond hair that seemed to be always in his eyes. His face hardly ever showed any signs of happiness or contentment in his rugged life, which led to always an extremely harsh, jagged face on his part. After seeing him in her mind again, the thing that finally snapped Tinga's muddled mind was that he had not only been her commander and leader, but her brother.

Her brother.

Now, with Madame X staring her down, Tinga tried to push such optimistic thoughts away and concentrate on the mission. The mission, which was to try and capture her brother and this other girl, whoever she had been. Maybe her brother had done something so bad that he needed to be punished for it. But, on the other hand, why did Madame X seem slightly afraid of this man? Was he really that dangerous?  
"Lydecker, your most lethal enemy, has ordered that X5-452 to be put with the anomalies."

"The anomalies, ma'am?"

"Yes, genetic deformities. They're hideous beasts that'll kill you if you get to close to them. Apparently, 'Deck thinks he can scare X5-452 into becoming a soldier for him once again." Renfro snorted angrily. "Bullshit, that girl'll die before she becomes a soldier for _him_ anytime soon."

"The order, ma'am?"  
"You are to go down the floor where they keep the anomalies…the basement, I believe, and capture X5-452," Renfro said, rising slowly to her feet so that she could keep on moving. After all, sneaking the X5-656 down into the basement would be enough of a problem, not to mention avoiding 'Deck and his men in the process. "It is of _max_imum importance that you get this girl who is-"

Foolishly, Renfro's last sentence had given Tinga all of push she needed to regain most of her memory of Zack and this other girl. Tinga interrupted Madame X's words without a second thought.

"Who is Max…my sister," she said, more to herself than to anyone else.

In a flash, Renfro slapped Tinga so hard across the face that the other girl fell to the ground, holding her burning cheek. 

Enraged, Renfro grabbed Tinga by the collar and hissed into her face, "No! X5-452 is the enemy! Not Max! Not your sister! You never had a sister named Max! Do you understand me?!" When Tinga didn't answer at first, Renfro shook her so violently that Tinga's head bobbed on her neck. "Do you understand me, soldier?!"

Blankly, Tinga nodded, which led Renfro to stand up, brushing off her long coat. She walked to the door, ready to leave, then turned back to Tinga, who was still lying on the floor. "You try another stunt like that, soldier, I'll feed you to the anomalies…personally." And with that, she slammed the door shut so heavily that the sound echoed throughout the room.

But, Tinga was gaining back more of her memory than should have been possible. She now not only remembered Zack, but Max as well. 

Another stunt like that would take her to the anomalies, Madame X had said to her. No, Tinga thought defiantly, rising to her aching feet, I'll take that bitch to the anomalies.


	33. Wires

Logan's body trembled with both fear and anxiety as one of Lydecker's head men wheeled him down the hallway. Although he trusted Max's judgement in what she had said about Lydecker's plan blowing up in his face, Logan still didn't want to go through with the fake Eyes Only message.

Surely Zack would kill him if they ever met back up again-not that Zack liked Logan alive at the moment anyhow. But, if the former captain of the X5s ever found out that Logan had gone willfully along with Lydecker's psychotic plan, Logan could easily see himself being banned a traitor along with a prize package of neck snapping.

Logan grimaced, imagining the notion, and tightened his fingers around the edges of his wheelchair arms until his knuckles went white. Zack or no Zack, this was wrong. 

Finally, on C floor, with hallways gray and bleak, Lydecker pushed a couple computer buttons on the wall to permit entry into a separate room, and with that gesture, two black doors slid open smoothly. He walked inside first, then turned around to Logan and smiled like a good host should.

"Welcome," he said to Logan, "to my personal office."

Logan felt his body drop inside his already twisting stomach; he couldn't turn back now. He, the helpless lamb, had just entered the wolf's den. And, there was no way out unless the wolf decided to free that lamb.

"My men have already set up all of your equipment for Eyes Only-at least all of the equipment that was at your house. I'm sure you know how it works." When Logan didn't respond, Lydecker asked, more stronger, "You know how it works-right?"

"Oh…yes…" Logan muttered as his head swayed. This had to be a nightmare. He would wake up soon enough and then Max would be sitting beside him, laughing. Lydecker would still be miles-preferably hundreds-away. Everything would normal again. Just wake up Logan, wake up…please.

"Good, good." Lydecker snapped his fingers and two of his henchmen saluted, coming quickly to attention. "Gentlemen, please wheel Mr. Cale over to the set-up and let him instruct you as to how it is done."

Logan felt a dull throbbing in the back of his mind as the wheelchair slid over the glistening linoleum floor…a floor like the basement where they kept those monsters. Max's clone was a monster and Max was gone. Maybe they had fed her to the anomalies. To that horrible clone of hers, letting it eat her innards like spaghetti. Oh God…

Sickened and nauseous, Logan fell forward out of his wheelchair as his body went slack. The floor was cold and hard against his cheek, but he made no move to attempt to get back up. Just let me die here, he thought. Those creatures are eating Max, and Zack's going to kill me…this is wrong…just plain wrong. Goes against everything.

Immediately, without waiting for an order from Lydecker, one of the men picked Logan roughly back up underneath the arms and threw him back in the wheelchair. It seemed as though all of the adrenaline and strength he had contained when he was first brought back to Manticore was gone. 

It had to be nightmare.

"Mr. Cale," Lydecker said to Logan as he perched on the edge of the desk, fingering a sleek pistol that Logan had come to associate only with Manticore, "you don't seem to realize that Max's life hangs by a thread. You resist this, and I can very well cut that thread." He shrugged absentmindedly. "I've suffered enough losses recently. Somehow, I don't think that one more dead X5 is really going to hurt me that much." Lydecker paused for dramatic effects and to let Logan absorb his words. "Do you understand?"

Logan licked his lips before answering. Finally, he nodded, but added in an underbreath, "Where, exactly, is Max?"

"Mr. Cale, that's not your concern right now. Let it be known, though, that she is safe."

"How can I trust you?"

"How can you not?" Lydecker retorted and Logan quieted.

Placidly, with the face of an executioner, Logan led the men through the steps to begin Eyes Only. 

But, suddenly, there was a problem. One of the computers wouldn't start, no matter how many times the button was pushed. 

"Sir, this computer won't work," one of the men said to Lydecker.

"What do you mean 'it won't work'? It has to work. He was using it just before he came here," Lydecker responded, referring to "he" as Logan.

"You can try it, sir, but it's not working."

Snorting angrily that his plans would be disturbed, Lydecker pushed past Logan so rudely that Logan's head snapped in his chair, and Lydecker began attempting to start up the computer. When he couldn't get it to start, he looked around to the back to check if all the wires were plugged in. To his utmost shock, every single wire was meticulously cut. Not chewed by a mouse, but snapped with a pair of wire cutters.

"What the hell…" Lydecker hissed, knowing that Logan couldn't have done something like this. After all, Logan had been in his possession ever since they had arrived back at Manticore. Then, if Logan hadn't, who had?  
Yet, Logan, who sat some distance away from his precious machinery, knew all too well who had damaged the computers. The only person who would've cut the wires because they didn't have enough knowledge to scramble the internal signal and who hated Lydecker with such a passion that they would've wanted to see him fail.

Logan covered his smirk as a single thought passed through his mind: Zack was back at Manticore.


	34. Boo

Max inched closer to the anomaly, but still was wary of touching its decaying flesh. After all, it was still an anomaly, also known as "the monster in the basement". Finally, she swallowed some of her fear and asked, "What do you call yourself?"

The creature paused, as its dying brain comprehended what she had said. "Thing," she finally grunted.

"Thing?" Max echoed, then shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe they call you such a cruel name."

"Cruel? That name?"

"No," Max replied, realizing that talking with this creature was going to more difficult than she'd assumed, "that's not your name. You need a real name. Like me. You see, I'm Max, do you understand that?"  
"Max," the anomaly repeated. "Max. You Max."  
"Yes, very good. I have a friend named Logan, that's a real name, and Cindy too, not to mention Herbal and Sketchy." She smiled sadly, as the stark truth came to her that she may never see any of them again. 

"Friend? What…friend?"

"You don't know what a friend is?"

The anomaly shook its scarred scalp where medical instruments had been dug inside and out to perform more brain operations than should have been done on a normal human.

"Well," Max said, staring off into the distance as she tried to think as how to define what a friend was to such a thing. No, she thought again, this isn't a thing. It's a person. A person who's just…trapped within their own body. "A friend is someone that you can trust more than anything in the world. You can laugh with them, talk to them whenever you want and they'll always listen. And," she finished with a crooked smile, "they'll always be your boo."

The anomaly contemplated what Max had said to her. Although a friend was still new to her, the anomaly considered it to be a nice thing to have. At least they sounded like they wouldn't hurt you like the people had done to her. "Will you be friend?"

Max paused. "To you?"

"Yes. To me."

Tentatively, Max reached over and clasped the creature's bleeding hand firmly in her own so that they were joined. The anomaly gasped slightly, having never felt such a loving gesture before. The feeling was new and strange to her. "First of all," Max began, "your name is not going to be Thing, we're going to call you…"

"Boo."

"Boo?" Max smiled, then nodded, agreeing with the creature, now named Boo. "Yes, and Boo, I'll be your friend. Perhaps, you can even help me."

"Help you? How?"

"I need to get out of here."

"You can't."

"It's not possible then?"

"No."

"Crap," Max hissed and laid her head in her hands, frustrated. 

Boo watched Max closely, trying to understand why her new friend was so upset. After all, she had lived down here all her life and didn't think that it was too bad. But then again, this Max seemed like someone who had had a better life than she.

Suddenly, Boo perked her head up as the elevator hummed, approaching the basement. "Listen," she said to Max.

"What the-" Max began, but abruptly stopped as she realized what it was. Rising to her feet, she limped heavily over to the door and peered out. 

When she saw who was coming, she smiled broadly. "Boo, it's Tinga, my friend, she's come to help us."

Tinga saw Max peering out of the anomaly's stall at her. So this was Max after all, the girl that she was supposed to bring to Madame X. Well, the girl didn't look that evil, but then again, perhaps she had committed some horrendous crime that Tinga was unaware of. Therefore, sister or no sister, she needed to be punished. Crimes can't be left alone.

She walked up to the heavy iron door and pulled out a ring of keys, searching through them to find the one to X3-452's room. 

"Tinga," Max said to her sister, trying poke her head out between the iron bars. "Tinga, listen to me."

Tinga didn't flinch. After all, she had forgotten that her real name was Tinga. It was X5-656 now-not Tinga. 

"Tinga," Max repeated, more urgently. "What have they done to you?"

This time, Tinga looked up, realizing that Max was talking to her. With a sharp flick of her arm, she opened the door, sending Max toppling to the floor due to the fact that Max had been leaning against it beforehand. 

"Come with me," Tinga ordered.

"What? Oh God, no, they've brainwashed you. Just like Brin."

Bending down, Tinga clutched Max by her wrists. "Come with me."

"No, I won't."

"You have to, soldier."

"I'm not a soldier," Max snapped, trying to wriggle out of Tinga's grasp.

"You are too."

"Never."

"Quit arguing," Tinga growled and began to pull Max along by her wrists. Max curled up and kicked her legs into the back of Tinga's shins. This action, unfortunately, hurt Max with her bandaged foot more than it hurt Tinga. 

"Tinga! What have they done to you? It's me, Max, please listen, just listen," Max pleaded through pained tears, knowing that she would be unable to reach Tinga through fighting. As it was, she was hurt, while Tinga not only was in good health, but top training quality as well.

Tinga turned around to see Max, who, by this time, was lying on her back staring up at her big sister. Maybe Madame X was wrong, maybe X5-452 wasn't the evil enemy that she had been claimed to be. Suddenly, Max's words reached through Tinga's muddled head: "It's me, Max."

Pausing, Tinga blinked. "Max?" she echoed, her voice hoarse. 

"Yes, it's me, Tinga. Tinga, it's me, Max."

"Tinga?"

"You're Tinga."

At that moment, Boo, unsure if her new friend was being hurt by Tinga, sprang out of her cell, screaming as loudly as she could. Tinga resembled the evil men who had hurt her all of her life and Boo wasn't about to let Max get hurt by the same people. Grabbing Tinga by the throat, Boo pushed Tinga to the ground, fighting with what little knowledge had been given to her at the beginning of life.

On Tinga's intercom, which was fastened onto her jacket, Renfro could hear her precious soldier's gasps for air.

"Boo, no!" Max cried, struggling to stand. "Let her go!"

Despite Tinga's efforts to fight back, she was no match for the anomaly. Lydecker had created his earlier X-series with far more strength than the later X-series. Although such power resulted in chemical imbalances and enzyme mutations, the creatures were far stronger than any X5 could hope to be.

Boo had her grimy fingertips clutched around Tinga's throat, banging her head against the cement floor, no knowledge of true fighting. "Don't hurt Max!" Boo screeched, her scream suddenly melding with other voices of soldiers that had heard Renfro's plea to help her soldier. 

"Stop right there, you thing!" one of them yelled at Boo.

"I not Thing!" Boo cried and, forgetting Tinga, turned on the soldiers, trying to attack them. Unfortunately, she was not quick enough to move out of the way of the tayzers and fell to the ground, her broken body trembling.

Tinga, by this time, was unconscious, and Max, too, had diverted her attention onto the soldiers. She screamed a hideous cry filled with more rage and terror imaginable and launched herself at the men. 

Just in mid-jump, the tayzers came at her, freezing her body and sending it falling to the ground below. She joined Boo on the harsh cement floor, unconscious and sick.

On the other end of the Alpha leader's intercom, Renfro was asking, "Are they alive? They'd better be, because I want the pleasure of destroying them myself."


	35. Tension

"Max?" the voice whispered. "Max? Wake up, it's time to go." Although urgent and harsh, the underlying message of the voice was clear: Are you all right? 

At first Max didn't hear the hushed tones due to the fact that she was still groggy and disoriented from the sedatives in the tayzers. Her head was swimming in a pool filled with the faces of Boo, Tinga, Lydecker, Logan, and more people than she could name all at once. 

Slowly, she tried to move her arm to reach for this person that was calling her, but she found that her wrists were strapped to the sides of the bed, preventing any unnecessary movement on her part. Max was too tired to fight it and decided it best to go back to sleep. After all, sleep was the only place it seemed that the enemy could not harm her, could not reach into her mind and destroy what mere sanity was left.

Then the voice came again, "Max." This time it was not a question of her health, but a statement that her life was in utter peril.

Slowly, her eyes lifted open, burning and stinging from whatever had been in the tayzers, and she saw the shadowy figure crouched beside her bed. The moonlight that filtered in through the large window above her head was not enough to reveal their face, and she knew that her eyesight was not in top quality anyhow. 

"What-" she began, but was cut off by the person.

"Not now." And with unimaginable strength, they tore away her bonds, ripping the material straight through. Then, they pushed down the bars surrounding the bed so that Max could sit up and swing her feet over the side. 

She proceeded to stand, but collapsed to the ground both from dizziness and the searing pain of her foot. If she had been able to see it in the dying light, she would have seen a mangled mess of blood and pus, both ready to explode from underneath the infected skin. Gangrene could even have been setting in, unknown to her.

When the other person saw that she could not stand, they scooped her up in their arms like a hero out of a romance novel-her head resting against their shoulder and legs hanging over the side of one of their arms. Only as she pressed her head to their body and heard the strong pulse of their heart, did she realize who had rescued her.

"Zack," she whispered, her voice long and drawn out like someone who has had a little bit too much to drink.

"We gotta get out of here, Maxie," he replied in an undertone, cautiously approaching the door and watching for any Manticore guards outside. "I got five bombs on each floor-definitely one in each of the main rooms too-, not to mention grenades on me. We have, at the most, seven minutes to get out of here. You understand?"

She nodded blankly, the world around her spinning.

"Good. Let's go." And with that, he opened the heavy iron door with his knee, pushing himself into the fluorescent-lit hallway and began to rush down it. 

Zack was faster than a speeding bullet, that fact was unarguable to anyone. But, carrying the sick Max in his arms, he realized that hand to hand combat was impossible. At the best, he would probably be able to kick someone in the groin or smash a kneecap, then keep on running. He wouldn't have even been able to reach the grenades stored on his belt.

Suddenly, out of one of the rooms, Boo burst out at him. She had been looking forward to any sign of Max, and now that she had seen her friend, Boo was ready to help. After all, she had watched them lock Max away in that dreadful room, then put her away in a place where they thought she would stay. Thought. Definitely an underestimate on the anomaly's strength-she had blown the hinges right off the door without hesitation and had been waiting behind it ever since.

Zack jumped back, wheeling around and starting in the opposite direction. Even he, the captain of the X5s, was scared of anomalies. 

"Wait! Max is friend!" 

Zack stopped dead and slowly turned back around. The clock was ticking; he didn't have time to deal with this kind of problem. He needed to keep on moving. But, what was up with this creature?

"Zack," Max whispered, hearing the anomaly's distinctive voice in the distance, "Boo's right."

"I can help," Boo offered.

"Just shut up then, and let's move," Zack hissed back.

Boo nodded, glad to be of help. She started down the hallway at an awkward hobble and hurried as fast as her mutated legs could carry her.

Zack wondered how in the world the anomaly could have escaped when he noticed the handcuffs on either wrist. The chain linking them was snapped due to over-exertion, and the hinges on the door where the anomaly had been staying were broken right off. 

At that moment, the emergency signal began to wail, signaling intruders. Zack clutched Max closer to his pounding heart; he wouldn't let her die.

"Let's move!" Zack bellowed to Boo. 

She gave an understanding nod, pivoted sharply as she turned a corner, which led them down another hallway. At the end of this hallway was an iron door, padlocked like the thousands of other doors in the Manticore base.

"It's a dead end!" Zack cried, as worry and tension began to burn through his veins. Not only did he have to outrun the clock, but now Manticore was after him. This could not be happening. 

"No!" Boo replied defiantly, curling her mangled lip. Then, bringing her shorter leg up beneath her, she kicked the door in so that it fell with a heavy clang. This motion opened up a shorter hallway where, off to the side, a stairwell could be seen that would lead them down to the ground floor. 

Suddenly, two armed guards jumped out at the trio. Zack backed away, ready to propel himself over the men, when Boo slammed her bleeding fist into one of their faces, then delivered a sharp kick to the other's stomach.

Zack followed the creature down the winding stairs, skipping a couple so that he could move faster. There had to be anywhere from three to four minutes left now. Would he make it? Better to die with Max, than to let her die within Manticore alone, he reasoned. But, this thought still couldn't take the edge off of his panic.

He and Boo nearly flew down the stairs, covering six to seven at a time, without any hesitation. For a creature with such limited brain capacity and severe mutations, she was, indeed, a rather good warrior.

At the end of the stairs, four men waited, ready to take the X5s back to where they belonged, and kill the anomaly.

Being above them, Boo dove down, landing on one of the men and slammed his head against the brick wall so that he fell into a puddle of his own blood. She then, turned her attention onto another soldier.

Zack roughly slung Max over his shoulder, knowing that he couldn't be all prim and proper at a moment such as this. He kicked outward, knocking the wind out of the nearest soldier, then cracking his neck as the man fell.

Out of the corner of her twisted eye, Boo noticed one of the men leveling a gun at Zack, who was occupied at the moment. She quickly pushed the man she had been fighting down to the ground and sped towards the gunman. 

"Max! NO!" Boo screamed.

Zack, hearing the scream, whipped his head around and tried to dodge out of the way. But, carrying Max, he was weighted down significantly, and couldn't move nearly as fast. 

Boo, diving towards him, sent him sprawling on the ground as she pushed him out of the way. Zack bounced as he hit the floor and Max came tumbling out of his arms, already unconscious. Unfortunately, the bullet, meant for him, hit Boo in the leg. 

The anomaly screamed a hideous shriek, and with her blood coating the waxed floor, she lunged toward the man who had shot her. This was what had been done to her all of her life, she couldn't back down now.

"Get away, you thing," one of the men sneered, pointing the gun directly at her. She was, after all, just another lab rat in the world that could be as easily disposed of as she had been created. Another imbecile that had lost its place.

"I. Am. Not. Thing!" Boo screeched and, using all of her strength, wrapped her hands the man's neck. She brought her distorted and pain-streaked face closer to his and whispered, "I am Boo." Then, without hesitation, she killed him like she had seen Zack do.

By this time, Zack had risen to his feet and was opening the door that led to the outside. All four soldiers were detained, but he knew that more would be on the way, not to mention the fact that the building was going to go at any time.

He turned back to the monster that had saved his life and asked, "You comin'?"

Boo gave an affirmative nod and ran out the door after him.

They jumped the fence together, despite the pain in Boo's upper thigh. She was able to ignore it though because pain was a factor that had been given to her all of her life. By hurting her so, the doctors in Manticore had unknowingly only made her pain threshold higher. Never again would they think that experiments were done solely for their benefit.

Finally, on the crest overlooking the Manticore base, did Zack gently lay Max down in the snow. The ice on her back awakened her senses slightly more and she noticed, for the first time, where she was.

"Zack?" she whispered, although her eyes were rolled slightly back into her head.

"Yes, Max? We're out now, there's nothing to worry about. Everything's going to be fine," Zack panted, sweat glistening on his ruddy cheeks in the pale moonlight as his breath came out in tiny clouds. He was victorious; Max was alive and so was he.

"No, Zack. Logan. He's still in there."

Zack flinched, not expecting the comment, and stopped breathing for a moment. "Logan?"

"Please, I need to get him," she said, struggling to rise as she pushed against the icy snow. Her body was still weak from the tayzers, and any attempts to save Logan would ultimately result in her death.

Zack watched her with pity in his eyes. He could leave Logan inside the building, but could he ever forgive himself? Could Max ever forgive him? No, he reasoned, you know what you have to do.

Before rising to his feet, Zack gently pushed her back down. "I'll get him," he whispered to her, bending over and clutching her freezing face in his palms. "You stay here, Maxie. I'll go."

Then, without any hesitation, he began to walk back down the hill, leading to the Manticore base. He flew over the fence with ease and grace unknown to any human. Finally, on the other side of the fence, he turned around to face Max and Boo, both who were bleeding on the top of the rising. 

Tears formed in his placid eyes as he knew what he had to do. Self-sacrifice, that was really all it was. Besides, Max would be happier with Logan. She would never love Zack the way he loved her. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and paused before fleeing into the building. Yet, although he knew that Max would never hear him, he whispered slightly so that his voice came out as a thin strand. 

"I love you, Max."

Hearing the words out loud, he turned and ran into the building, filled with rage and embarrassment that he had let emotions take control of the mission. What kind of soldier was he? A weak one, obviously, one that does not deserve to live. Then, with a silent cry to himself, he slammed the door behind him.

Max watched him from her peak, worrying and trying not to cry. But, just as the door closed behind him, the door of his fate, the building erupted, as the explosives swallowed it like a giant monster. And, as the bombs meant for Lydecker's destruction went off, one by one, not only the building disappeared, but Zack and Logan as well.


	36. Nightmare

For a brief moment, Max believed it all to be a dream. All the thick, black smoke that rose from the top of debris and rubble; all the flames that were strewn across the snow covered lawn, eating away at the perfected crystals; all of the retched stench that poured forth from the ruins. It was all a dream.

Then, as the stark and horrid realization exploded through her muggy mind that not only Logan, but Zack was in that inferno, Max knew that this was no nightmare. She couldn't think of something so hellish.

She screamed, her voice barely heard over the flames, trying to rise, trying to get to the building to save Logan and Zack. Her foot, no longer bandaged with the cloth from Boo, oozed of blood and pus as she applied weight onto it, splitting at the scars. A single bloody footprint followed her as a shadow as she tripped and fell down the hill.

Tears ran down her freezing face, clasping her hair together in icicles, while she cried hysterically. Max was normally not one for the type of behavior she was displaying at that moment as she stumbled, sobbing and screaming. She usually could accept the truth as it came at her, cry a couple tears, then push herself back up and continue on. 

But this was not usually.

She stopped at the perimeter fence, slamming her weakened body against it. Although she was not strong enough to jump over the boundary, she was determined to climb it. Latching her numbed fingers through the chain linked fence, she began to pull herself upwards. 

"Logan!" she moaned, using his name as an impetus to get over and to him. "Zack!" 

At that moment, in the middle of her climb in which her foot bled even more, she felt strong arms wrapping themselves around her waist. Max kicked and thrashed against the hold, which resulted in loosing her grip and slipping down the fence.

"Let me go!" she screamed as the tears wet her clothing. Her voice was raspy from the cold, but her misery was even icier. "Let me go! I have to get them! They're in there!" 

Slowly, she sank to the ground, with assistance from the person next to her. Collapsing to her knees, she buried her face in her hands as sobs racked her frail body. "They're in there…I have to get them…"

Next to her, Boo, with blood smeared up and down her side like a prisoner of war, wrapped a supporting arm around Max. The anomaly had little understanding of true human emotions other than hatred or pain, but she could comprehend that something was wrong with Max. Boo pulled Max closer, letting her friend lean against her for not only physical, but emotional support as well.

"No, Max. You no go."

"But, Logan," she replied, her face buried in Boo's tattered clothing. "And Zack…"

"No, Max."

Boo ran her fingers through Max's long, beautiful hair since the anomaly had no hair of her own to comb. Approximately fifty yards away, the fire burned, dashing its light up the snow and illuminating Boo's face with not only light, but also heat. It was the first time she had been warm in a long time, for the basement that had been her home for over a decade was never heated.

As Max's rapid breathing slowed, she was able to lift her aching head up and face the flames, knowing full well what had happened. "They're gone-aren't they?" she whispered, more to herself than to Boo.

"Yes," she replied, nodding her beaten head. "I sorry, Max."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry."

"For what?"

"For…everything, I guess."

"You no need be sorry, Max," Boo said to her.

"I still am." 

Max wrapped her arm around Boo and laid her head against the creature that she had been deathly afraid of for all her life. Irony at its best, she thought wickedly to herself. The monster I had feared turns out to be the thing that saves me, while the person I love is the one that brings my psychological destruction.

The two of them sat, side by side, both bleeding and bruised, but not really caring until the last of the stars began to die out, giving way to the dimly lit sun that struggled to rise over the crest. Although the fire still raged, Max had formed a tight shell around herself, knowing and accepting that the two men who meant the most to her were infinitely gone. She needed to carry on with her life. Besides, it was what both Logan and Zack would've wanted for her anyway.

In the distance, she heard a voice calling to her. At first, she dismissed as delusional smoke inhalation and ignored it. But, when the voice began getting louder as it approached, she turned around. Even Boo was watching the direction from where the outcry came.

Moving swiftly down the snowy crest, the person ran. Their hair streamed out from behind them in a loose braid, while they cried Max's name joyfully and feet crunched through the thick snow. 

Slowly and stiffly Max rose to her feet, hearing her knees crack and feeling the sores reopen on her foot. She squinted her eyes, straining to see the person and nearly fainted when she saw who was approaching.

"Tinga?" she yelled. "Tinga is that really you?" 

"Yes, yes it is," Tinga replied as they met in a full force hug. She nearly swung Max around in a circle as they laughed in happiness so hard that tears fell from their eyes. Finally, they stopped spinning and looked at each other eye to eye for the first time since Tinga's mysterious capture by Renfro.

"It's really you," Max whispered. "And you know who you are."

"Baby sister," Tinga cooed, caressing the side of Max's hurt face, "I know everything."

Max would have been completely happy and carefree, but there was another problem agitating her at the moment. "How did you escape from the building before the bombs went off?"

"I wasn't in the building."

Max paused, her eyes widening as more fatal truth came tumbling down on her. "Then that means…?"

Tinga finished for her, "That Lydecker and Renfro are out there right now looking for us? Yes, that's what it means."


	37. Home

Tinga was sitting down on the snow beside Boo and Max, watching the two of them carefully. By this time, she knew that Max was indeed her sister and people by the names of Charlie and Case did exist. But, now came the difficult part of explaining to Max about Lydecker and Renfro.

"I was down in the basement with Renfro after you were taken away," Tinga explained, nodding her head in Max's direction. "She was trying to get me to wake up so we could go and 'kill that damned creature', as she put it. Sorry," Tinga apologized to Boo.

"It ok," Boo replied.

Tinga smiled warmly at the anomaly's childlike innocence. "Anyhow, I finally awoke, groggy and in pain. Renfro shoved some pills in my mouth, told me to swallow them and get to work. Needless to say, I was on the verge of a migraine and she wanted me to go and fight the monster in the basement." Tinga snorted angrily. "I was her slave. Her little robot." She clenched her fist tightly, brandishing it like a sword. "If only I could show her who was the slave…"

"Tinga, chill," Max said to her older sister. "Just tell us what happened."

"Ok, so I was down in the basement with Madame Psycho, ready to kill her, when Lydecker steps in. I didn't hear the elevator come and apparently Renfro didn't either because she looked equally as shocked."

"Who Lydecker?" Boo asked, interrupting Tinga.

"He's the man who created you," Max explained.

"Bad man."

"_Very_ bad man," Max answered.

"But he comes down there, while Renfro stands up all smiles like nothing has happened. I'm still lying on the floor, hardly able to breathe or think because of the pain. I don't think he had seen me by that point. Or, if he had, he sure didn't show it. Anyhow," Tinga continued, "she smiles like nothing has happened and tries carrying on a regular conversation with him. 'Hello 'Deck,' she says. 

"Then he goes, 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' 

"'I don't have the slightest clue.'

"'Like hell', he says and walks up real close to her so that they're nearly kissing. I'm not going to voice my opinion on that matter, but you get the picture. From what I can understand, some computer for Eyes Only had its wires meticulously cut. He thought that she did it. Naturally, I wasn't going to say anything because I didn't want to defend her, nor him. Let them kill each other was the way I looked at it."

"Would've been for the best," Max said.

"You're telling me. But then, somebody would have had to clean up the mess."

"Good point."

"I must have moaned or something because suddenly he looked over at me, lying there pitifully on the floor, and his eyes just bug right out of his head. He points to me and hisses at her, 'Is that X5-656?'. Renfro doesn't answer, but Lydecker walks closer over to me. 'It is,' he says and then turns to her. Then he says something about all of us taking a nice trip to the Committee. I guess, from what I figure, he was blamed for my loss and wanted to make sure that the Committee realized who was really responsible."

"Good old Lydecker, caring only about himself," Max laughed.

"Yeah, so he loads all of up into his Jeep and we head out onto the road. It's about twenty minutes later when we hear this awful explosion from behind. He slams on the brakes, turns around in his seat and looks behind him. We can all see these huge flames from deep in the woods. Lydecker jumps out of the car and throws the door closed, cursing with words I didn't think he was capable of. Renfro follows and pretty soon they're standing out on the road, screaming furiously at each other for 'whose damned fault it is for blowing up Manticore'. During this time, I managed to slip away and come here."

"Where are they?" Boo asked.

"Now?"

"Yes. Now."

Tinga shrugged. "I don't know. Probably still out there."

Max waited, letting a moment of silence pass before breaking the news to Tinga. "You realize that Logan was in there."

Tinga's face fell drastically. "Oh Maxie…"

"And Zack."

This time, Tinga couldn't say anything. A couple minutes with only the hissing of the twisted wood and brick as background noise passed before she finally rose to her feet, brushing the snow off her pants. Her face, once hardened by brainwashing, was now soft and gentle, but accepting of the tragic truth that Max had bestowed upon her. No one would ever accuse Tinga of being overly weak, but at the same point, they could never say she wouldn't show sympathy. Despite it all, she wore the look of a soldier who has just seen the worse of bloody battle and knows the truth, but will no longer run from it. 

"Maxie?"

"Yes?"

"I think it's time we went home."


	38. Fault

Lydecker refused to look at Renfro for a moment or two as the snow slicked road proved to far more interesting than the hideous bitch beside him. He walked in slow circles around her, watching the movements of his feet with numbed toes. Left, left, left, right, left…He continued moving until his mind was calm enough that he could talk to Renfro without choking her on sight. 

"You realize what just happened-don't you?" he asked, stopping a couple feet behind her.

Renfro tensed, shoving her hands deeper into her trench-coat pockets. She didn't turn around and answered to the air in front of her. "I understand, yes."

"Then, what happened?" 

She paused, swallowing, before replying. 'Deck would shoot her without hesitation if he wanted to; she had seen it done by him before.

"Manticore is gone."

"And whose fault is this?"

"I don't know."

Lydecker inhaled deeply, letting the frigid air condense in his lungs and halt his breathing. Exhaling, he walked around to the front of Renfro, staring holes into her head. Maybe he should just kill her and be over with it.

"The entire structure that Manticore has been based on is dead," he hissed, spewing hot steam into her face. "Flattened into smithereens. Now, I have not had the chance to view it, but I have an uncanny feeling that nothing is left. Nothing. The DNA lab is gone, any surviving X-series, all files are gone. Do you understand this?" 

"You can't treat me like I'm one of your soldiers," Renfro said, blinking for the first time as she met Lydecker's eyes. 

"And how am I supposed to treat you?"

"Figure it out. I didn't cause the explosion. I don't know who did. Ok? It was my dream too-"

"Bullshit. You," Lydecker seethed, stabbing a finger at her, "tried to kill those kids. X5-656. Glad to know that she was all right."

"You don't know how to handle them."

"I don't know-" Lydecker laughed hoarsely, shook his head, then exploded. "Dammit, Renfro! They were my kids! My kids!"

"You don't think I know that 'Deck?"

"You kidnapped X5-656, went against military commands, tried to capture X5-599 and X5-452 as well. Only you managed to capture 452. X5-734 is dead now. Dead. Do you understand _that_?"

"Yes. But it wasn't my fault."

"Of course it was. If you hadn't kidnapped 656, then you wouldn't have gotten in that Jeep with 734 to go to the place where 656 was being kept. Therefore, it all comes down to the fact that you went behind my back, behind the Committee's and everyone's back to do what you damned well pleased."

"And suddenly it's my fault for your career going downhill?"

"My career hasn't gone anywhere."

"Really? Well, then, I had 656 in my possession, along with 452. Under your order, 452 was put with X3-452, and now they are both presumably dead. If X5-452 had stayed where she was at, she wouldn't have died, nor would 656 have escaped. Do I make myself clear?"

Lydecker looked shocked for a moment, but was pretending to be so. "_You're_ giving orders now?"

"Always have, 'Deck, you were just too deaf to listen."

"Really?"

Renfro nodded as the snow began to fall, coating her silver hair with ice. "Aren't you planning to turn me over to the Committee?"

"Wouldn't make a damn bit of difference. You'd weasel yourself out of it someway or another."

"Unlike you."

"Look!" Lydecker snapped, walking sharply up to her. "They weren't your kids! You didn't create them! You didn't lo-"

"What was that 'Deck?"

"Nothing."

"I didn't _love_ them? Is that what you said? My, my, my, that's certainly weak of you. No wonder your kids are full of sentimental shit."

At that moment, Lydecker, filled with unimaginable rage and hate, grabbed Renfro's head, placing his fingers underneath her cheekbones. Right before she screamed, he, in one violent motion, snapped her head cleanly off her neck without any trace of blood or gore whatsoever. 

The head, with eyes still blinking, rolled in the thin layer of snow that was just beginning. Renfro's thin lips grinned maliciously up at Lydecker as the remainder of her body slumped to the ground. As the head stopped, a couple inches away from Lydecker's big toe, she, the head of Renfro, smiled at him, "You know, 'Deck…"


	39. Pawns

Logan approaches Max so that they stand in a wicked parody of when she tried to rob his penthouse nearly a year ago. She looks at him, confused and shocked at the sight of him walking. Seeing her perplexed look, Logan smiles sheepishly, glancing down at his legs. "Courtesy of our crazy friend Phil."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise for last night. An anniversary gift."

"Logan, I'm so sorry."

"You've got nothing to be sorry for or ashamed of because I know who you are."

Suddenly, Logan falls to the ground as Max gasps instinctively. His legs are madly shaking in the exoskeleton as his heels clatter over the wooden floor.

"Dammit!" he cries, embarrassed.

"It's okay."

"Sorry," he says, looking up at her, "let me just…"

The exoskeleton dies down and so do Logan's legs. Max crouches down next to him. 

"I'm sorry," he says to her, hating the horrid acid that burns inside of him, knowing that she has seen him at his weakest moment.

"Logan, you've got nothing to be sorry for or ashamed of. It's never been about you being able to walk-not for me."

Logan pauses, then grins sarcastically. "Will you look at us?"

"Pathetic."

"Hopeless."

Max smiles her infectious smile. "Lucky we hooked up."

"Happy anniversary," he says to her, leaning in for a kiss. They kiss for a moment, slowly, before he pulls away, remembering what she has told him only minutes before. "Maybe, uh…maybe we should wait. You know, until you're yourself again."

Max smiles at his innocence, loving him all the more. "This isn't Manticore," she whispers, "this is me." They lean back in, continuing to kiss. Both are drowned swimmers in an unnamed ocean.

Suddenly, their thoughts are interrupted by a shark: 

"Looks like I caught you at a bad time."

Max and Logan pull away from each other, while Logan grits his teeth and tries not to scream in rage. Of course, big brother had to come into the picture, had to ruin everything. Max looks more shocked than she should be to see her older brother standing in Logan's doorway.

Zack cocks his head to the side, unsure of truly what to say. His true love was just seen kissing his rival enemy. But now, there are more important matters to worry about besides whose bed Max is really sleeping in.

He knows that she'll come with him, do what he asks this time, but he is unable to control the bitter sarcasm that erupts from his throat. 

"You wanna go save Tinga or did somethin' more urgent come up?"

"You know, 'Deck," Renfro says to Lydecker, "you really shouldn't break the pieces." 

They are sitting across the table from one another in a small room on the A-level floor. The table is a fine oak, strong with color and rich with strength and nearly unbreakable. Lydecker, though, feels as if he could snap the entire table in half with one bare hand. He feels. He does not know for sure and will not test his hypothesis.

Saying nothing to Renfro's comment, he turns his head to the left, looking out the large window where snow covers the hills. He knows it's been too long. Too long since a success. Lydecker wonders where X5-656 went, and what kind of secrets X5-734 is keeping from him. She contains something, but will break his neck if overly provoked. Yes, she had been trained well, far too well. As he is contemplating the fact that losing Madame X, formerly known as Renfro, would also be a rather great loss, she spoke to him.

"I take it we're quitting then."

"Can't play with broken pieces," he responds and bends down to pick up the fallen ones. They had somehow found their way to the floor since the chess game started and were assumed to be lost or, better put, dead pieces. 

Three pieces are on the floor. A pawn, a rook, and a bishop. All three are cleverly crafted and now Lydecker feels almost guilty that he broke a perfectly good chess set. The pawn in shaped into the image of Brin, with eyes hard and cold. She had known her role, understood that she was merely a pawn that needed a player. Her loss in the game had been swift, but regrettable. Next to her was the rook, a short little figure of Logan Cale sitting in his wheelchair as he had for a year now. He too, had been an important removal from the game, but neither player had wanted to reach down to the floor to retrieve the murdered pieces. Finally, there was the bishop. Zack. Never accepting the fact that he always would be someone else's pawn. He couldn't, nor would he. It was all part of the man that Zack strained to be. 

Lydecker picks up the remaining wooden pieces on the board and begins to put them back into their slots inside of the chess game container. Renfro watches him with hawk like eyes.

"You realize that you're a dead man once you leave here. Once you turn your back on Manticore, you turn your back on life," she tells him without emotion.

Lydecker doesn't blink and carefully fits the knight-a perfect image of Max on her motorcycle-into its proper hole. The piece has only one flaw-her foot is chipped away so that just a mangled piece of wood takes its place. He has nothing to say to Renfro anyhow. The chess game was supposed to solve something. It ended up solving nothing. Asinine.

"Well?" she says, clasping her hands together as she stares at him from across the table. He's weak; it's only a matter of time before all of Manticore falls neatly in her palms. Everything will be hers eventually. Just a simple matter of time.

"Well what?" he asks, placing Tinga and Boo pieces, which were the pawns, small but powerful, of the game, into their places. He wonders briefly if he'll ever find X5-656, but that's not the main importance. The knowledge that he can trace X5-452 with that implant in her head makes his palms sweaty. She'll be his once again.

"Do you plan to stay here? Let me take control of the operation? If not, you'd better leave watching your back carefully, 'Deck."

"Do I really need to answer that?" he asks, picking up the king, which resembles him.

"Then, you'd better be watching your back."

He picks up the queen, Renfro, with the broken head cleanly snapped off. "For how long?"

"For however long it takes to kill you."

He nods, affirming her response, and pushes his chair back to rise. She beats him to it and stands up, looking down on him. If only she had some alcohol to drown him in, then, there never would be any trouble with Donald Lydecker. If only. 

"You leave, your kids will become my pawns," she whispers as if someone is listening to them.

He blinks, rising to his feet so that he can be taller than she is and not have to feel overly intimidated by her. "No," he hisses, stabbing a cold finger into her shoulder where a harsh bone meets it. "My kids will never be pawns in your palms."

Arching an eyebrow, she smiles. "Oh really?"

"Yes."

"And, therefore, I'm supposed to assume they'll always be pawns in _your_ palms?"

"They are pawns, whether they like to admit it or not. In fact, we all are. Someone or something has to give us a motive or reason to do something. I wouldn't be sitting here right now if I didn't want to know where X5-656 was. So, partially, she's my own pawn because she's controlling me at this minute. But, in truth, she's mine. All of them are. And there's not a damned blessed thing you can do about. It's something we have to accept. Being a pawn that is." He pauses, watching her reaction carefully. She knows better to show fear, but having been trained by the same general as Lydecker when younger, they know the secrets behind the mask.

He starts towards the door, still facing her. "I _will_ find them all so that the game can be complete," he whispers, then turns, no longer caring if she decides to impale him with a bullet in his back. 

Renfro doesn't come near him, but calls out, "I will never be one of your pawns, 'Deck!"

Walking down the hallway, Lydecker smiles, and takes out the headless queen piece from his pocket, studying it carefully. All he has to do now is find the men who live in that fake Animal Control Center van, and have them find Max. The game is afoot, Lydecker knows, but at the same point, he has to be careful what he adds to this casserole. 

"Perhaps," he whispers to himself, remembering Renfro's outburst that she will never be a pawn of his, as he gently puts the part that he broke back into his pocket to be taken away. "Perhaps you already are."

The End


End file.
